Soulmates
by isawyouasaperson
Summary: Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena use a spell to find out who their soulmates are. Belvafore and tylena.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I have not actually seen tvd, so I apologize if anyone is ooc. If you politely review telling me that (and how ) someone is ooc, I will try to fix it so long as it doesn't interfere with the story I have planned. This fic is mainly bamon with hefty sides of defan, baroline, and steroline. Also not particularly Elena friendly. As to when this fic occurs, put it at some point after stefan returns from klaus, Caroline is dating Tyler, Elena is dating Stefan but falling for Damon, and Bonnie and Jeremy broke up. If no such time exists, just treat it as minorly au.**

 **Standard disclaimer applies. Anything recognizable is not mine and belongs to associated writers. Hope you all enjoy.**

"I still don't know why we need to do this. Obviously Stefan is your soulmate." Caroline complained.

"Because I have to know for sure." Elena groaned. "I need to know if I belong with Damon or Stefan and if Bonnie can help me with that then I want to find out."

"Elena, if you don't know by now, a spell giving you the answer won't make your decision for you. Magic can't make up your mind for you." Bonnie pointed out quietly.

"Bonnie, please do this for me. You and Caroline are always pointing out how I need to stop waffling between them. If this will help me decide, shouldn't you help me?" Elena begged. "Please? For me?" she pouted when she saw that Bonnie was about to crumble.

"Okay. But I still don't think this is such a good idea." Bonnie sighed.

Caroline rolled her eyes. She never understood where Bonnie's unfailing loyalty to Elena came from. Sure, they were best friends from childhood, but Elena hadn't been an especially good friend to Bonnie the last couple years. But Caroline knew better than to say anything right then. She decided to mention it to Bonnie later, took a seat around the kitchen table, and watched as Bonnie set up everything she would need for the spell.

Bonnie lit five candles and set them in a circle around a mirror on the table. She looked at her grimoire, _probably memorizing the spell_ Caroline thought, and then began to chant.

"Deliberatione speculo speculum magis quam ostendunt. Ostenderet , alterum dimidium." She repeated the spell three times, then handed the mirror to Elena. "Just look in and it should show you the face of your soulmate."

Elena gulped. "Okay. This is it. Here goes." She looked in the mirror. "Tyler?" She gasped.

"WHAT?" Caroline shrieked, snatching the mirror to take a look for herself, not believing that Elena stole another guy from her. "Elena, what are you talking about? That's Stefan." She sighed with relief.

"No. That's clearly Tyler." Elena snapped, trying to take the mirror back and looking in again. "See?" She held it up for Caroline.

"Nope. Still Stefan."

All three of the girls froze with simultaneous realization. "No. no, no, no, no, no, no." Elena whispered.

"This CANNOT be happening." Caroline stated while staring at Elena in horror.

Bonnie started laughing. "I can't believe you're dating each other's soulmates."

"It's not funny. It's super weird." Caroline moaned.

Elena sighed. "Bonnie, why don't you see who your soulmate is? Take our minds off of this awkward situation."

"Oh no. That is a question I would rather answer for myself. Besides, this is way more entertaining." Bonnie snickered again.

Caroline was starting to get really irritated with the whole situation and Bonnie's complete lack of sympathy, so she picked up the mirror shoved it at Bonnie, saying "If I have to know who my soulmate is, so do you."

Bonnie tried to close her eyes but it was too late. A horrified look appeared on her face followed by a shriek. "NOOOOO!"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much for all the positive comments on this story. This is my first fanfic and I was a little nervous putting it online but the positive response has blown me away. Here is the second chapter. Its a bit longer than the first. Hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Standard disclaimer. TVD belongs to owners.**

"This can't be happening! There's no way the universe could be that cruel." Bonnie lamented, completely forgetting the other two girls were even in the room.

"What?" "Who is it?" Caroline and Elena asked together.

Bonnie's head shot up and she stared at them in horror. "I'm going to die alone." She snapped.

"No you won't. The spell must be wrong." Caroline defended instantly.

"Of course you won't die alone. You'll always have us." Elena pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Bonnie sighed with relief that Elena didn't see her lie.

"At least you didn't just find out that your boyfriend is your best friend's soulmate." Elena continued as if Bonnie hadn't said a word. "I have the worst luck in the world."

"Uh… What about me?" Caroline snapped.

"Sorry. You know what I mean." Elena apologized. "Maybe Bonnie did the spell wrong." She looked relieved at the thought. "Yeah. Bonnie did the spell wrong. There's no way Stefan's your soulmate."

Bonnie was beginning to get offended, both for her and Caroline, but before she could say anything, Elena's phone went off signaling a text. Elena opened it.

"That's Stefan. I got to go. I'll talk to you guys later." She said while running out the door.

Ordinarily Bonnie would be a little hurt, but today she was just relieved. She didn't think she could take looking at Elena knowing she had lied to her, especially with so much new information.

"Thank God she's gone. Now you can tell me who you really saw, Bonnie. You didn't really think I couldn't tell you were lying, did you?" She asked when Bonnie gave her a surprised look.

"I guess not." Bonnie sighed. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Especially Elena."

"Okay. I swear on my French manicure, I won't tell Elena." Caroline swore solemnly.

"Okay." Bonnie took a deep breath to prepare herself. "I saw Damon." She whispered so quietly that if Caroline wasn't a vampire she never would have heard.

"What?" shrieked Caroline. "Damon? As in the mass murdering psychopath who's in love with Elena and we both hate? That Damon?"

"No. The other one." Bonnie snapped sarcastically. "Yes that one. What am I gonna do?" she wondered.

"Maybe the spells wrong. I mean, there's no way Damon Salvatore is your soulmate. Although, it would be kinda funny to see Elena's face if she found out that the two guys who are obsessed with her were supposed to be with her two best friends." Caroline mused. "What?" she asked when Bonnie gave her a disapproving look. "You know she's been getting more and more self-absorbed ever since they came to town. It might be a wake-up call that the world doesn't actually revolve around her."

"While that might be true, you still can't tell her. It would add all sorts of stress to all of our lives." Bonnie insisted.

"Fine." Caroline acquiesced. "I'm gonna text Tyler and cancel my date tonight. I think you and I need a girls' night."

"You don't have to do that." Bonnie objected.

"Right. My best friend just found out that she might belong with her arch-nemesis and she says I don't have to spend time with her." Caroline said with an eye roll. "Besides, we could both use some fun. You need company and I need to spend some time without my boyfriend. Can't have him getting bored of me." She said with a smile.

"Okay." Bonnie didn't need much convincing. She really had missed both Elena and Caroline since they got boyfriends, especially after she broke up with Jeremy.

A couple hours later, the girls were stuffing their faces with pizza while watching Psych, Caroline's new favorite tv show. Bonnie was surprised at how much she enjoyed it. The show could be a little outrageous and silly at times, but overall she really thought it was funny. After that, they decided to paint their nails while arguing over which style of music was better. Caroline insisted on Country while Bonnie claimed that classic rock was better. Eventually, they built a fort on the living room floor for them to sleep in.

Just as they were beginning to drift off, Bonnie quietly asked "What are you going to do about Tyler, Stefan and Elena?"

"I don't know. What are you going to do about Damon?"

"I have no idea. The spell won't create any new feelings. Or at least, the magic won't. All that changes is that now I know that he's my soulmate. What I do with that information is up to me."

"So you're pretty sure the spell is right?"

"I know I did it right. I looked over it all and did some more research while you were getting your stuff. It all checks out. Damon's my soulmate."

"I'm sorry." Caroline whispered.

"It's not your fault I have a shitty life." Bonnie paused. "Even if he was interested in me and I was into him, I would never start anything with him. Not after what he did to you. I would never do that to you." Bonnie felt the need to say.

"Thanks." Caroline said. "Tell you what. If your feelings for him ever change, you tell me right away. That way I have time to mentally prepare. And kick his ass a few more times."

"Okay, but it won't be an issue. I could never fall for him. Not after everything he's done. And even if I could, his heads so far up Elena's ass I don't think he'd be able to see me."

Caroline giggled.

The next morning, the girls made French toast and orange juice for breakfast. Luckily it was a Saturday so they didn't have school.

"I'm going to have to talk about this with Tyler, aren't I?" Caroline asked through a mouthful of toast.

"Yeah. You don't want to lie to him or omit the truth." Bonnie said honestly.

Caroline sighed. "Might as well get that over with."

After Caroline helped clean up their mess and said goodbye, Bonnie decided to see Matt at the grill.

BDBDBD

While Bonnie and Caroline were busy with Girls' Night, Elena sat outside of the Boarding house, thinking. _Stefan can't be Caroline's soulmate. There's just no way. But what if she tells him about the spell? They're really close. He might want to see if there's any sort of future there. Especially since she's a vampire and they could actually have forever together. And if he finds out that Tyler's my soulmate, he'll for sure break up with me. He won't be willing to stand there while I have confusing feelings about yet another guy. I'll just have to make sure that Caroline doesn't tell him. The spells probably wrong anyway. But what if he doesn't go for it? At least I'll still have Damon._

Elena got out of her car and headed into the house. When she entered the living room, she saw the two brothers reading. They both looked up and smiled. Well, Damon smirked. Stefan came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Is everything all right?" he asked quietly.

"Everything's fine." She answered and then smiled at Damon before heading upstairs with Stefan.

 **AN: I debated about how I was going to handle Damon raping Caroline and I am still not entirely satisfied. I intend to deal with it more in later chapters but I am not entirely sure how I want to go about it, so if anyone has any ideas, tips, or suggestions, I am all ears.**

 **I plan on updating this story about once a week, usually on Sunday. However, work and school might interfere and I apologize in advance. Hope you all liked this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

Damon awoke between two beautiful, curvaceous women. After Elena got home last night, she and Stefan had fucked rather loudly. Elena in particular had seemed especially enthusiastic and had moaned "I love you" almost twice as much as usual. Wanting to get away from all the noise, Damon had gone to the grill where he had flirted with the two women now on either side of him and then gone to a hotel where he had fucked and fed on them.

After slipping out of the room, Damon debated about going back to the boarding house. On the one hand, it would be fun to flirt with Elena until Stefan's forehead resembled an accordion. However, he wasn't really in the mood to watch his brother and Elena make goo goo eyes at each other, so he decided to head to the grill.

After ordering a drink at the bar, he began to look around the grill, hoping for some entertainment. All he saw was the little witch talking with the mutt. Deciding that irritating them was better than nothing, he grabbed his drink and headed over.

"Well well, if it isn't the mutt and the witch. What are the two of you doing? Arguing about who is the loneliest, most unlucky in love?" Damon interrupted their conversation.

The little witch froze in fear for a second before turning to look at him. _That was strange. She hasn't done that since she proved she could set me on fire._

"No. We already agreed that was you." She said with a smirk, trying to hide her fear.

 _Maybe not fear._ Damon thought. He stepped closer to her, invading her personal space. _More nervousness. Strange._ He decided to ignore these thoughts and responded smoothly, "Cute. However, you're clearly wrong. All the ladies love me."

"No. All the desperate little girls love you. The ladies are busy with actual men."

"Which explains why you dated baby Gilbert."

"Well he is more of a man than you."

"Please. As if. I know you wanna hit this so bad. Can't fool me, Bon-bon."

"Trust me, words cannot fully express just how badly I want to hit you." Bonnie countered, clearly meaning a very different type of hit, which Damon chose to ignore.

"Obviously. So when do you wanna do this? I'm free now."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "And on that note I'm leaving. See you later, Matt." She said, brushing by Damon.

"What? No "goodbye" for me?" Damon asked, feigning hurt.

Bonnie didn't even look back. Damon smirked and returned to the bar, ignoring Matt's disapproving glower.

BDBDBD

 _Stupid vampire. There's no way he's my soulmate. I'd rather die alone then spend my life with that asshole. There's no way he can ever find out about that stupid spell. He'll never let me live that down._ Bonnie was irritated. No one could push her buttons quite the way Damon could. He had managed to ruin a perfectly good conversation with Matt. She had missed talking and hanging out with Matt since all the supernatural crap started and decided to spend more time with him in the future, regardless of how busy her life got. She sent him a text asking if he wanted to play pool at the grill after his shift. After he responded with a definitive yes, Bonnie decided to practice her magic back home until he got off.

BDBDBD

Caroline rung Tyler's doorbell and then wrung her hands nervously. She knew she loved Tyler, but she had to be honest with him. She wasn't going to lie to him, especially about something as important as her soulmate.

Tyler opened the door and smiled at her. "I didn't think I'd see you today. Figured you be to busy with Bonnie."

"There's something I have to tell you. Can I come in?" Caroline blurted out nervously.

Tyler nodded and stepped out of the way. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just found out something that affects me and you."

"Okay." Tyler gulped.

"First I want to say that I don't want to break up. I am so completely in love with you and this won't change that. At least not on my end. But I'd understand if you feel differently." Caroline paused for a second before continuing. "Bonnie did a spell for Elena that was supposed to find out who her soulmate is and I accidentally found out that Stefan is mine. But it's totally possible that spell went wrong or that we're platonic soulmates. That happens, right?" She blurted quickly.

Tyler froze for a minute and Caroline's nervousness forced her to continue talking. "I mean I have absolutely no romantic feelings for Stefan. He's just my friend. I am completely in love with you."

"I can't believe this. I thought there was something between you two, but you both always insisted you were just friends. God, I can't believe I believed you." Tyler shouted. "And Stefan has to steal you from me? Cause stealing Elena from Matt wasn't enough, he has to steal my girlfriend to?"

"I just told you that I don't love Stefan. God! And if you think about it, you stole Matt's girl every bit as much as Stefan did." Caroline snapped before storming out.

She knew it was a bad idea, but all she wanted to do was talk to Stefan. He would understand and could give her advice. _But what if Elena hasn't told him? I don't want to get in the middle of that mess. Maybe I'll just say that I found out that Ty's not my soulmate. That could work._

When Caroline arrived at the boarding, she found Stefan reading in the library. She tried to smile and look happy but clearly failed when the first words out of his mouth were "What's wrong?"

She knew there was no point in even trying to lie to him since he always saw right through her, but since she didn't want to get in between him and Elena, she decided to only tell him part of the story. "Bonnie did a spell and I accidentally found out who my soulmate is and it's not Tyler and when I told him he started yelling at me and I don't know what to do. I don't want to break up with him, I still love him, but how do we overcome this? I mean,"

"Caroline, breathe." Stefan interrupted.

"Should I not have told him?"

"You did the right thing. That's something that's important and you have to share it with your partner."

Caroline felt a rush of guilt, knowing that there was no way Elena had told him about her discovery.

"What if Tyler wants to break up?" Caroline asked, trying to distract herself from her guilt.

"Then you break up and you try to find happiness with your soulmate. No matter what, telling him was the right choice. I would want to know if Elena found out I wasn't her soulmate." Caroline felt even more guilt at his words.

"Who is your soulmate anyway?" Stefan asked out of curiosity.

"Um… no-no one you know. I haven't even met him yet." Caroline stuttered. _Really should have thought of a cover story beforehand. I don't want to lie to him but I don't know how much of this is my business to tell him and how much is Elena's. Damn her for putting me in this position._

"Well whoever it is, they are the luckiest person alive to have you as a soulmate." Stefan put his arm around her and Caroline blushed at his compliment. "Are you alright?" he asked after a few minutes.

"I will be." Caroline answered. She still felt guilty about not telling him the whole story and she decided that she needed to talk to Elena soon. "You want to go hunting?" She asked, not wanting to leave quite yet.

"Sure."

Instead of hunting, they spent most of the afternoon talking and laughing out in the forest.

BDBDBD

Stefan returned to the boarding house after walking Caroline home. Spending the afternoon with her had relaxed him. As he walked through the door, his good mood evaporated at seeing Elena. She looked tense, almost as frightened as she had when Klaus had been a problem. "What's wrong? Is Klaus back?" He asked, flashing over to her.

"It's fine." She answered, faking a smile. "Did Caroline tell you anything today?"

"Yeah, she told me about her soulmate. Why?"

"And you're okay with it? This doesn't change your mind about anything?"

"No. Why would it?" Stefan was beginning to get confused about why Elena was so upset.

"Good." Elena smiled and threw herself into his arms.

Stefan frowned. _Why is she so relieved? It's not like this has anything to do with her._ He was also confused, and slightly relieved, that she wasn't spending time with Damon. Usually when he hunted with Caroline, Damon and Elena hung out.

"Come on." Elena started pulling him up to the bedroom. Stefan was to relieved that she wasn't flirting with Damon to protest.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Miss Gilbert, are you trying to corrupt my innocent younger brother?" Damon asked while wiggling his eyebrows.

 _Think of the devil and he will appear._

"Of course not, Damon." Elena smiled and looked at Damon from under her lashes.

Stefan frowned. "Why don't you go somewhere else, Damon?" He snapped at his brother.

Damon just smirked and brushed by Elena, winking at her when he bumped her shoulder. Elena blushed and then glanced at Stefan with a guilty look. With his irritation growing, Stefan began climbing the stairs. "I'll see you tomorrow, Elena. Right now all I want to do is sleep." He said without looking at her.

He couldn't believe Elena. She actually had the gall to flirt with Damon while he was right there. If she hadn't looked guilty, he probably would have dumped her. _Probably still should. If she doesn't have a problem flirting with Damon, what makes me think she won't eventually cheat on me with him? Maybe she's more like Katherine than I originally thought. I should ask Caroline for advice._


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: To everyone who reviewed this story, thank you. It helps keep me inspired and the constructive criticism is appreciated.**

 **To everyone who gave ideas about how to handle the Caroline/Damon situation, a special thanks. The general consensus seems to be that no one wants it to be a huge deal, which matches my personal leanings as I am not sure I would be able to do a in-depth storyline justice. However, this decision is not set in stone so if you have something else you want to see, feel free to tell me.**

 **To KrayKrayKat, I am planning on extending it for a while still. I am still getting some characters into place for the story I want to tell. If I was writing this in book format, the chapters would be significantly longer, the first three published here would probably be all one chapter. However, as a fanfic reader myself, I prefer frequent short updates to long, infrequent ones so my chapters reflect that preference.**

 **To Bellafan1: Yes, it will probably get confusing who knows who's soulmate, so I will have a AN at the beginning of each chapter with a quick reminder. Thanks so much for pointing that out.**

 **At this point, Bonnie and Caroline are the only ones who know about Bonnie/Damon. All three girls are the only ones who know about Elena/Tyler, and Tyler knows about Stefan/Caroline (But Elena thinks Stefan knows).**

 **Standard disclaimer applies.**

Monday morning came all too soon, and with it, school. Bonnie, however, didn't mind. She was just relieved that there hadn't been any crises over the past couple days. Walking through the halls before classes started, she spotted Caroline at her locker. They had talked Sunday about what happened with Tyler and she knew Caroline was still pretty upset about it.

"Hey. You alright?"

"Yep. I decided that I am going to give him time and space and wait for him to come to me. Until then, I am going to be totally normal."

"Sounds like a good plan. You ready for our history test?" Bonnie asked while pulling her book out of her locker.

"I am so ready. Ask me anything you want about the civil war." Caroline smiled proudly.

"Care, the test is on the civil rights movement, not the civil war."

"Oh. Oh well, it can't be that hard, right?"

Bonnie laughed and started walking towards class. "Caroline, Bonnie! Wait up!" They turned around and saw Elena rushing towards them. "We have to talk." She gasped out.

"We do, but not until after school." Bonnie said. "Absolutely no boy talk until then." She added, shooting Elena a look.

"Fine." Elena muttered, an irritated look on her face. Bonnie didn't care if Elena was a little bit irritated. She had been avoiding soulmate talk, and trying to avoid even thinking about it, for the past couple days, and she wasn't ready to break her streak quite yet.

After school, the girls all stood out in the parking lot with Matt and Jeremy, which made things a little awkward for Bonnie since they weren't exactly friendly after the breakup.

"How'd you guys do on the history test this morning?" Matt asked.

"I thought it was pretty easy." Caroline smiled proudly.

Bonnie couldn't help but smile. She knew Caroline could be ditzy at times but she was still incredibly intelligent, so Bonnie wasn't surprised she did well despite her study snafu. "I think I did pretty well." Bonnie told Matt and Elena nodded in agreement.

"Scooby gang. Witch." Damon walked up to the group and stood as close as possible to Bonnie, staring down at her. She met his gaze with an irritated look of her own.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline snapped. "If there's not a life threatening emergency, there's really no need for you to be here."

"If you must know, Vampire Barbie, I am here to talk to my favorite Little Witch." Despite the sarcasm and irritation practically dripping from his words, he never took his eyes off of Bonnie.

"Damon, leave her alone." Stefan said appearing right in front of Damon. "In fact, why don't you just leave."

"No. Stay." Bonnie blurted out before Damon could respond, earning strange looks from everyone in the group.

"Wow, Witchy wants me to stay. I knew you couldn't resist me." Damon smirked proudly after recovering from his surprise.

"Actually, I have a new spell I want to try out." Bonnie closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Since it was a wordless spell, she needed every bit of concentration she had. After a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes to find Damon smirking at her. He opened his mouth and started mouthing words before freezing in shock. Bonnie's face lit up. "I disabled your voice. You won't be able to talk for a couple hours. I think I might like this even better than the aneurisms." She gloated at the look of horror on his face.

"I'm impressed." Stefan smirked while the rest of the group started laughing at Damon's panicked look.

Damon started mouthing at Bonnie while stepping further into her personal space and glaring menacingly. "Witch, if you don't give me my voice back right now I am going to suck you dry." Caroline mocked in her best impression of Damon's voice.

"Are you sure he's not going to try to seduce Prince Eric?" Bonnie snickered.

Damon almost lunged at Bonnie before she looked at him and raised her eyebrow. With a look that clearly said there would be payback, he turned and sped off.

After a few more minutes of laughter and jokes at Damon's expense, the group began to disperse.

DBDBDB

Caroline had insisted that Elena and Bonnie go Elena's house. Since Alaric was grading papers and Jeremy was hanging out with Matt, they would have the house to themselves. Caroline was already sick of lying to Stefan and she wanted Elena to tell him everything.

"Okay. I know that you want to be able to tell Stefan the truth, but why do I have to be here?" Bonnie whispered while Elena was in the kitchen pouring the girls some iced tea.

"Because Elena and I might need a buffer. Besides, you're the voice of reason in the group. You might be able to talk her into talking to Stefan if I can't." Caroline whispered. They sat up quickly when Elena returned carrying the tea.

"I am so glad you guys came over. I need your advice about Stefan. I feel like he's been pulling away and I can't figure out why." Elena said after passing out the tea.

"Maybe it's because you have feelings for his brother?" Caroline was incredulous that Elena would claim she didn't know why Stefan was pulling away.

"That's not true." Elena practically shouted.

Caroline scoffed and was about to argue when Bonnie interrupted. "Elena, if you don't have feelings for Damon, you need to stop flirting with him."

"I'm not flir-"

"Yes you are. All the longing looks, secret smiles, and hugs need to stop. Honestly, I can't blame Damon for believing that you have feelings for him even if you don't and I can't blame Stefan for wanting to distance himself from this repeat love triangle. If you really choose Stefan, you need to convince both of them of that and act like he is your only choice." Bonnie calmly stated, far kinder than Caroline would have. By now, Caroline felt like Elena deserved a swift kick in the pants for treating Stefan so poorly.

"I just don't want to lose - hurt either of them." Elena corrected with a guilty look.

"Elena, what you're doing right now is hurting both of them." Bonnie said while shooting Caroline a look to be quiet. "You're feeding into both of their insecurities."

"Insecurities given to him by Katherine, by the way. Someone who you love to say you're nothing like." Caroline cut in, ignoring Bonnie's warning.

"That's not fair." Elena snapped.

"Girls. Stop." Bonnie jumped in before Caroline could say anything. "Elena, Caroline is right. You claim you're nothing like Katherine, prove it."

"Fine." Elena's expression clearly said she was anything but fine with the turn of this discussion. "Let's talk about something else."

"Okay. When are you going to tell Stefan about Tyler? I'm tired of lying to him." Caroline tried to speak calmly, but she was getting really tired of Elena's whining.

"I'm not going to tell Stefan. Bonnie's spell is probably wrong. Besides, if I tell him, he'll want to break up. He already knows that you're his soulmate and he didn't want to break up so I don't see what the problem is."

"What do you mean he already knows? You told him?" Caroline was surprised that Elena had told Stefan that he belonged with her.

"No. I thought you did. He said you told him about your soulmate." Elena said with a confused look.

"I told him that it wasn't Tyler, not who it was. I thought you should tell him that you're not his soulmate before I tell him that I am."

"I'm not going to tell him. After all, the spell is probably wrong and it's not like you're going to tell Tyler anyway."

"Of course I'm not going to tell Ty."

"See?" Elena grinned with triumph.

"Because I already told him." Caroline smirked as Elena frowned.

"You already told him?"

"Of course. I don't want to lie to him."

"It's not lying. Bonnie probably did the spell wrong, so there's no need to tell anyone."

"Elena, Bonnie did not do the spell wrong. Stop blaming her for the fact that you don't belong with who you want. Now, if you won't tell him, then I will. I can't just keep lying to him."

"Can't keep lying to him? Don't you mean that you want him to yourself?" Elena growled. "You've been dying to steal him from me ever since Matt couldn't get over me while you were dating. You're just using the fact that you're his soulmate as an excuse."

"What? That is so not true. I'm happy with Tyler."

"That's enough!" Bonnie shouted, interrupting what was about to become a full blown cat fight. "Caroline, Elena, why don't the two of you give each other some time to cool down and think about this. We can talk more about it in a couple of days, but right now I don't want to get in between a doppelganger and a vampire. Believe it or not, I have better things to do with my time than get in the middle of your drama."

BDBDBD

Stefan stood in the middle of the library, frozen in shock because of what he had overheard. Caroline was his soulmate. That wasn't the shocking part, he had always felt a strong connection to her, so he wasn't too surprised. What did surprise him was that both she and Elena knew and hadn't told him. Despite her constant flirting with Damon, he still trusted Elena to at least be honest with him. He understood that earlier she though he had already known, but now that she knew he didn't, he couldn't believe she had absolutely no intention of telling him. This betrayal stung. However, what really hurt him was that Caroline hadn't said anything. He had even asked her who her soulmate was and she had lied to him. True, she had just said that she didn't want to lie anymore, and she did it out of respect for his relationship with Elena, but he was still hurt by her dishonesty. As he was brooding about all of this, he heard quiet footsteps behind him. He turned and found Elena standing in the doorway.

"Are you alright? I didn't see you after school. I thought you were going to come by." She looked almost like she felt that he had betrayed her by not coming over to see her.

He looked at her for a couple seconds. "I'm fine. Is there anything you need to tell me?"


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey everyone. I am going on a family vacation this week so I will not be able to upload Sunday so here is an early update for you. I am not sure if I will have time to write the next chapter before the sunday after that, but I will do my best and I will for sure have the next chapter up by the 16th of August. Hope you all like it.**

 **At this point, assume that everyone except Damon knows about S/C. Only Care and Bon know about B/D and only the three girls know about E/T.**

 **Standard Disclaimer.**

"Is there anything you need to tell me?" Stefan asked, wanting to give Elena a chance to come clean.

"No. Why would you ask that?" She actually looked innocent, like she had no idea what he wanted to talk about. If he hadn't heard her and Caroline talking about it earlier, he wouldn't have believed that she had any idea that they weren't soulmates.

"Elena, I know." He said with a regretful look. "I overheard you and Caroline talking when I went to your house. Why didn't you tell me?"

"This means nothing. There could be a million other explanations. Bonnie could have done the spell wrong, fate could have messed up, or maybe you and Caroline are just platonic soulmates." Elena rushed to say.

"You know what's funny? If you had come to me and told me right away instead of lying and hiding the truth from me, I would have said everything you just said." Stefan said with a mournful look. "But you didn't. Instead you lied to me. I trusted you, Elena."

"You can still trust me. I still love you."

"No, I can't. Don't you get it? You flirt with my brother and then lie to me about our relationship! I can't trust you!" Stefan was shouting at this point. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I think we need to take a break."

"No. Stefan, we can work this out. We don't need to take a break." Elena snapped.

"Yes, we do. You need to figure out your feelings for Damon and I need to decide if I can trust you again."

"Stefan, I love you. Only you, always you."

"I don't believe you. Not anymore." Stefan walked oustide before Elena could say anything.

BDBDBD

After leaving Elena's, Bonnie drove to the grill for supper. Since her father was out of town and she didn't feel like cooking, she decided that eating out was the easiest supper option. While eating her burger and working on homework, she saw someone sit down across the table from her. When she looked up, she saw Jeremy.

"Jeremy, I don't want to have this conversation. We are not getting back together. Now please leave." Bonnie stated calmly.

"Bonnie, it was just a kiss. It didn't mean anything. I am in love with you. Anna means nothing to me." Jeremy cried passionately.

"If she means nothing to you, if you're in love with me, why would you kiss her?" Bonnie argued. She couldn't believe he was trying to win her back with such a lame argument. "You know what, Jeremy? I don't want to go out with you. I don't feel anything for you anymore. At least nothing romantic. I. Have. Moved. on."

"Bonnie, I'm not going to give up on us. I think we should fight for our relationship." Jeremy declared passionately.

"There is no us anymore! You ruined that all by yourself and I have no interest in fighting for something that's already gone. Now if you won't leave, then I will." She got up and walked out of the Grill before he could stop her, leaving money on the table for her food.

"Why won't you give baby Gilbert a second chance?" Damon's voice interrupted her walk to her car. "It's not like you have anyone else asking. Who will care for little Bonnie Bennett if not baby Gilbert?" He taunted.

Bonnie froze, then turned to look him in the eye. "I care for myself. No matter how alone I am, no matter who betrays me, that will never change. I don't need Jeremy to be my boyfriend in order to be happy." She growled, stalking towards him. He just rolled her eyes and brushed past her. "I'm not going to settle for being second place." Bonnie said more quietly. "Neither should you." She whispered, so quiet she thought he hadn't heard her, so she walked back towards her car.

"What the hell does that mean?" Damon was suddenly in front of her, blocking the car door.

"Isn't it obvious? I mean you should stop going after your brother's girl."

"No. You said I shouldn't settle. That implies that I deserve better." Damon was strangely serious.

"You deserve to rot in hell. You're a serial killer who has tormented countless victims. I meant that if you want someone to choose you over your brother, maybe you shouldn't go after girls who are already in love with him. It's really not that difficult of a concept." Bonnie sassed.

"And here I was thinking you were going soft on me." Damon smiled and opened her car door. She slid past him and into the car but before she could close the door and drive off, Damon spoke again. "I'm sorry. For what I said. Even you don't deserve baby Gilbert."

Bonnie surprised herself by laughing. "Wow. You can't even apologize without making a joke, insulting someone, or being an ass." She chuckled and shook her head. "Goodnight Damon."

BDBDBD

Surprisingly, Damon felt better after talking to Bonnie. For some reason, that he definitely did not want to analyze, talking with the little witch always made him feel better, even if all they did was bicker and argue. He felt guilty about his comments about her relationship, he had only said them because he was so irritated by her most recent spell. Luckily, his comments didn't seem to have too much of an effect on her beyond her initial anger. However, her new nervousness around him was still present, and, while it was fading, he decided that he wanted to find out the cause. _I can't ask her, she'll think that I actually care about her. Blondie won't tell me anything, neither will baby Gilbert or the mutt. Tyler won't know and I can't have Elena asking questions. That leaves Stefan. He'll only help if he thinks there's something wrong with Bonnie, he doesn't trust me enough any other way. I'll have to tell him that Caroline thinks there's something wrong and I overheard her and Matt talking about it at the Grill._

Damon was so lost in thought he didn't even notice Elena waiting for him until she reached out and touched his arm. "Damon, I said your name like three times and you didn't answer. Are you alright?"

"Elena, I'm fine." Damon snapped, annoyed that he hadn't heard her. "What's wrong with you?" He asked, noticing her teary eyes.

"Stefan and I broke up." Elena gave him a watery smile. "I… I want to be with you, Damon." She said before moving her lips closer to his and closing her eyes.

Damon kissed her. For the second time. Only this time, she kissed him back. And to his disappointment, all he could think about was if he was settling for being second place. _No! This is Elena, the girl who you've been pursuing for months. The girl who is finally choosing you. You finally beat Stefan._ He shoved everything from his mind as he began to kiss her with more passion, shoving her up against the wall. Finally, she broke the kiss, gasping for breath.

"Wow. That was incredible." She said, with no tears in her eyes.

"Elena…" Damon whispered hesitantly.

"What?" She smiled gently.

"Am I what you want?"

"Of course you are. I'm choosing you, aren't I?" Elena murmured with a vaguely confused smile.

"Really?" Damon hated how desperate and hopeful he sounded, but this was the girl he had been pursuing for years.

"Yes Damon. I choose you. Always and only you." She said, but Damon wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself. Instead of asking more questions, he decided to finally claim what he wanted. He kissed her. He knew his kiss was hard and demanding, but he felt the need to prove to both of them that he had won.

DBDBDB

Bonnie was driving home from the Grill. As she was driving, she began to think about her magic. _I think it's time I embrace my magic and start trying to develop it, and not just for self-defense, but for fun._

Upon arriving home, she darted up to her room, grabbed her grimoire and some old boots from the back of her closet, and sprinted into the woods. Right now, she didn't care that she had school the next day. All she wanted to do was have some fun with her magic. Reaching a relatively clear and flat space, she opened her grimoire and found a spell for creating ice from humidity in the air. She concentrated on drawing the water out of the air, almost like how dew is formed, pressed it to the ground, and froze it. She continued doing this until a large, smooth ice patch had formed. Then she focused on forming blades on the bottom of her boots. After she had finished, she opened her eyes and saw what resembled a large, frozen pond and nearly perfectly formed ice skates. The spell was slowly draining her, but since it only involved nature and no supernatural beings, she knew she could still hold it for a good couple hours before fatiguing. She laced on her boots and slowly glided onto the ice. Her balance was a little wobbly because she had only skated a couple of times before, but her cheerleading and dancing paid off, and she didn't fall.

At first, she was hesitant and cautious, but eventually she started gaining confidence and even tried balancing on one leg, with the other foot just above the ice. When she didn't fall, she felt confident enough to bend her knee and hold her foot behind her. However, she was a little overzealous, and fell on the ice. She managed to twist, which allowed her to land on her butt instead of her face and sent her spinning across the ice. Giggling, she began to get up when she suddenly felt two dark presences, one from behind and one from in front, lunge at her. Reacting purely on instinct, she used her magic to send both creatures flying backwards. Upon hearing their grunts, she was able to spot them. They were both vampires, although not very old ones.

Bonnie knew that she wouldn't be able to run from them or fight both of them at the same time. Remembering how her magic drained her so much less when it was effecting nature than when it was acting on supernaturals, she focused on the tree that the vampire in front of her was resting against. The tree began to absorb the vampire, locking it in place despite his struggling. As he was being completely swallowed, Bonnie tried to spin and face the other vampire, but found it hard to move. Looking down, she saw that her feet were being sucked down into muddy ground. With her concentration elsewhere, the ice had melted and formed mud beneath her feet. That momentary distraction was all the second vampire needed, and she lunged for Bonnie, who barely had time to launch her assailant across the clearing before squelching as far away from the vampire as possible. She was already tiring and knew that a nosebleed was just one small spell away.

"Wow. You really are clever. Most witches try to attack vampires instead of using their surroundings to take them down. I'm impressed, or at least I would be if you weren't about to pass out from overexertion."

The vampire taunt reminded Bonnie to use nature to attack, rather than attack directly. Using her magic, she reached out towards a nearby dead branch, lifted it, and launched it directly at the vampire's heart. It struck home. The last thing Bonnie saw before passing out was her attacker falling to the ground, dead.

Bonnie felt herself being lifted and carried. She was only aware enough to sense her body being moved and see a vague figure whose face she couldn't make out. She sighed as darkness overtook her completely.

 **AN: In case it was unclear, yes D/E had sex, I just had absolutely no interest in writing it but I felt it was what the characters would do so there it is. I also apologize for the cliff hanger.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: As always, thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows. Here's the next chapter. It's super long. Apparently, when you have nothing to do but write all day, you have a lot of time to write. I don't think any other update will be this long, but we'll see.**

 **Kadienewberg: Thank you for pointing out about the "on a break". I wish I had phrased that differently but whats done is done. I will deal with that in future chapters, hopefully without a "We were on a break" Friends rerun.**

 **I added a new character, Tommy Merlyn, from Arrow. I have been having Tommy feels lately and he kinda slipped in. He is not my character and belongs to Arrow/CW/DC.**

 **As for who knows what at this point, everyone but Damon knows about Steroline, The girls know about Ty/Elena, and just Bon and Care know about Bamon.**

Damon awoke to the sound of his phone was vibrating. He snatched it up and answered it before it could wake Elena.

"This had better be important." He snapped after flashing into the bathroom and closing the door.

"Something's wrong with Bonnie. She won't wake up and I can't get ahold of Stefan." Caroline sounded panicked. "Please meet me at my house. I don't know what to do." She nearly sobbed.

"I'll be there in five minutes." Damon used his vampire speed to get dressed and run over to the Forbes' residence.

"What happened?" He asked before he had even completely entered the house.

"I don't know. I heard a knock and when I opened the door, Bonnie was passed out on the middle my porch and now she won't wake up." Caroline rushed out.

"Well did you give her your blood?" Damon asked, already rushing towards a deathly still Bonnie. Her heart beat was strong but erratic and he had absolutely no idea what was wrong with her. Before Caroline had a chance to respond, he was biting his wrist and holding it to her mouth. Just as he opened her mouth and the first few drops hit, he felt himself being thrown against the wall.

"What the hell, Caroline?" He shouted.

"She wouldn't want us to risk her becoming a vampire." Caroline shouted back.

"At least she'd be alive." He barked, preparing for a fight.

"You really think she'd ever chose to turn? She'd be dead, only she'd feel guilt and pain instead of dying peacefully."

"Then why the hell did you call me?" Damon shouted, feeling more and more helpless with each passing second. He knew that Caroline was right and that Bonnie wouldn't turn, but he still wanted to risk it, just in case they were wrong and Bonnie did turn.

"Because I thought you might have another way to save her. Haven't you ever seen anything like this before?"

"No, Caroline, I haven't actually seen everything before. I've never seen anything like this before." Damon snapped.

"We have to help her somehow. We can't just sit here and do nothing."

Suddenly, something occurred to Damon. "Wait... listen to her heartbeat." He instructed.

"It sounds like she's scared. I can even smell her fear under all the magic."

"She's having a nightmare and something is preventing her from waking up."

"If it's a spell, that would explain the overwhelming smell. So how do we get her out?"

"I'm going to go into her dream and try and wake her up from the inside." Damon reached for her hand to make a physical connection.

"No, I'll go. She trusts me."

"Have you ever invaded some one's dream before?" Damon snapped. "It's extremely confusing, especially with a spell in place to control the dream. You have no experience so I'm going in."

"Fine, but you better protect her."

Damon nodded before sitting on the floor beside Bonnie and taking her hand. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on her thoughts and slipped into her dream. As a witch, she should have blocked him, but her extreme fear prevented her.

Smoke burned his nostrils and eyes. Screams echoed through his ears. As he searched for Bonnie, he saw people running and panicking. An entire town was burning to the ground. The town looked like a small, modern farming community and its people were burning like tinder.

"Bonnie!" Damon shouted over and over again. Finally, after what felt like the hundredth time, he heard her behind him.

"Damon?" She whispered.

He turned and saw her weeping, whether because of the smoke or out of fear he couldn't tell.

Before he could say anything, she continued. "What are you doing here? Did you help them? All these people died because of you?"

"Helped who?" His curiosity caused him to ask. "You know what, it doesn't matter. This is just a dream, Bonnie. None of this is real."

"You can hear me?" Bonnie whispered, hope crossing her face.

"Of course I can hear you. I'm here to rescue you."

"You can get me out?"

Damon had never seen her so vulnerable and he was starting to worry even more. "Of course I can." He snapped, concealing his concern. "Are you ready or what?"

Bonnie froze, a look of abject terror appearing on her face. Turning around, Damon spotted a group of strangely calm people stalking towards them through the smoke and flames. They were dressed in leather jackets and boots and would have resembled a biker gang if it weren't for their magical auras. They paused about twenty feet away and the leader began to speak. "Bonnie Bennett, you have been found worthy. This is your calling." He stated, gesturing towards the chaos when saying "this". "You will join us and help rid the world of the abominations of vampires and werewolves."

"You must be fucking delusional if you think I would ever help you. There are children here, children you burned." Bonnie declared forcefully. Damon smiled. Even scared beyond belief, she still had more bravery and spunk than everyone else he knew combined.

"You still resist us? Do you truly believe that this vampire will save you?" The stranger responded, acknowledging Damon for the first time.

"Listen Crazy, I don't know who you are or what you want with my witch, but you're even stupider than you look if you think I'm leaving her here with you." Damon stepped in front of Bonnie, trying to protect her.

The whole group began to laugh. "We didn't mean that you would leave her. We meant that you cannot protect her. You are powerless against us."

"I'd love to test that theory." Damon growled, assuming a fighting stance and baring his fangs when they began approaching.

Before an all-out brawl could begin, the strangers disappeared. "Where'd they go?" Damon spun around and found Bonnie standing behind him with her hand hovering above his shoulder as if she had just removed it.

"They didn't go anywhere. Look around." She said while dropping her hand.

Damon did and all he could see was grey. Not like smoke or fog, but like a blank canvas just waiting to be drawn on.

"I can control it a little. Just enough to escape them when they get to close." She explained. "I think my fear helps me gain control."

"How long until they get here?"

"About five minutes until the next nightmare starts. Then they show up right after everyone in that one dies." Bonnie murmured, looking like she was going to start crying.

"Bonnie, listen to me. I can get you out, I just need you to trust me." Damon rushed to say, trying to keep her from melting down. She looked at him for a couple seconds before nodding. "Okay. The easiest way to stop the spell would be to kill whoever put it on you, but that clearly isn't an option, so we'll have to block it some other way. I want you to focus on blocking everything out of your mind. Picture walls or vaults around your thoughts that nobody can penetrate." As Bonnie closed her eyes and began to concentrate, screams began to fill the air again. Her eyes flew open and she began to look around in a panic again. "Bonnie!" Damon shouted, sensing that he was losing her. "Ignore that. Focus on me." Her eyes met his again and she began to calm. "Good. Now focus on creating barriers around your mind. Nothing else exists." Bonnie closed her eyes again and Damon felt himself begin to fade out of her dream and start to wake up. A couple seconds later, his eyes flew open and he found him staring into Bonnie's green ones.

Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He hesitated for a second before putting his arms around her waist. "Told you I would get you out." He said, smiling into her hair with relief.

"Wow. What happened in there that would get you to hug Damon?" Caroline asked in a half joking half deadly serious manner.

DBDBDBDB

Bonnie instantly detached herself from Damon. She had been so relieved to have escaped her nightmare, she hadn't even noticed Caroline in the room. She pretended not to notice how Damon's face fell at the loss of contact before he managed to resume his trademark smirk.

"Caroline, I'm fine. It was just a really bad nightmare." Bonnie tried to pacify her friend.

"Oh no you don't, Bonnie Bennett. Don't you dare lie to me. Damon said there was a spell causing your nightmare and since I couldn't wake you, I believe him. Now what happened in there, and don't even think about lying to me." Caroline declared before sitting next to Bonnie on the couch she had awakened on.

Bonnie sighed. She knew Caroline wouldn't be satisfied until she knew everything, so she began her story. "I was practicing magic in the woods when I was attacked by two vampires. I drained my magic fighting them and passed out after killing both of them."

"Wait, what do you mean you passed out?" Damon interrupted.

"Sometimes when I use magic I over exert myself and get nose bleed, but this is the first time I've ever passed out from it. It doesn't happen very often." She rushed to reassure them when she saw the worried looks on both of their faces.

"Bonnie, why the hell didn't you tell me?" Caroline screeched.

"You could've died." Damon shouted at her.

"I'm sorry." Bonnie whispered, looking away from both of them. "I just didn't want anyone to worry. It's nothing I can't handle."

"Bonnie, it's my job as your best friend to worry about you, especially if you're almost killing yourself. And you shouldn't have to handle it, especially by yourself." Caroline said while hugging Bonnie so tight she could barely breathe.

"I can't believe I'm even saying this, but I'm with Blondie." Damon muttered with an irritated look. "You're forcing me to agree with Blondie, Bon-Bon. Do you see how stupid not telling anyone is?" He lectured.

"I'm so sorry you almost lost your resident witch, Damon." Bonnie snapped, annoyed by his suggestion that he had any say in how she lived her life. "Why don't you go find Elena and tell her all about how you saved the day. I'll even back up your story of she asks me about it." She promised, trying to get him to leave.

Damon glared at her. "You know, I did just save your life, witch. Perhaps a little gratitude is in order."

"You only saved me for Elena, so the way I see it, she owes you a thank you, not me." Bonnie retorted.

"Actually, I saved you because for some unfathomable reason, I actually kind of like having you around." Damon shouted at her.

"No. You like having a witch who will save your ass around." Bonnie was confident that he didn't actually like her since he never treated her as anything more than an irritant or on rare occasion, a partner in crime who he relied upon only because it was necessary.

"Is it really that hard to believe I actually like you? Your self-esteem is even lower than I thought." He taunted.

"Hey!" Caroline shouted. "You two can argue later. Right now, I want to know what the hell is coming after Bonnie."

Bonnie and Damon both looked contrite. "Thank you. Bonnie, continue." Caroline ordered calmly.

"Anyway, next thing I know I'm being carried through the woods, but I couldn't see who by. I passed out again, and suddenly I'm in the middle of a dark alley, watching a group of witches torture and kill three vampires."

"The same ones that said you were chosen or whatever?" Damon interrupted.

"Same group, different members. After they were finished with the vampires, the ones you saw showed up and started telling me about how I was chosen to help them rid the world of vampires and werewolves and how I passed their test."

"What test?" Caroline jumped in.

"I'm not sure, but I think they meant the two vampires who attacked me. That started talking about how I was one of the most powerful witches to ever live and how they would help me achieve the fullness of my gift and complete my destiny. I told them that I didn't want to kill all vampires or werewolves because some of them were good and didn't deserve to die and that's when they got angry. They started spouting about how they're all evil and deserve to die. When I still refused, they told me that I'd be trapped watching them kill the "abominations" until I changed my mind and that's exactly what happened. Each kill was more violent and gruesome than the last. Eventually Damon shouted up and told me how to block them out." Bonnie finished.

"Wow." Caroline whispered. "They really put you through that?" She looked horrified.

"Yeah, but I won't do it. They can't make me." Bonnie comforted her. "Wait a second. How did you know that blocking them from my mind would wake me up? Couldn't they have two separate spells, one to put me in a coma and one to invade my dreams, in which case I would still be asleep, just in control of my own dreams?" Bonnie asked while looking at Damon.

"Huh. Didn't think of that." He shrugged.

Bonnie started giggling.

"You mean you almost locked her in a permanent coma?" Caroline shrieked.

"It wouldn't have been permanent. We would have just gone and killed the witch who put the spell on her." Damon said while rolling her eyes.

"Care, relax. I'm fine." Bonnie said, trying to control her laughter. She knew her long night was catching up with her, so she decided to get some sleep. "Can I stay here tonight?"

"Of course, though there's not much night left. I think I'll call us both out of school for today."

Bonnie nodded before starting up the stairs. She paused at the top and turned back around to face Caroline and Damon. "They're wrong, right? They can't make me kill you guys?" She asked, scared of their answer.

"Judgey, take it from me, no one can make you do something that you think is wrong." Damon answered before Caroline got a chance.

"Thanks." Bonnie said with a small smile before going into Caroline's bedroom and collapsing on the bad, asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

DBDBDBDB

"So how are we going to protect her?" Caroline asked Damon after Bonnie left.

Damon glanced at her. "I know that you have a plan and however I feel about you, she's my best friend, so spill." She explained.

"I'm going to talk to some contacts of mine, see if any of them know anything about vigilante witches or if they know anything that can help us." He pulled out his phone.

"Good. Stefan and I can take turns keeping an eye on her." Caroline agreed.

"No way. I'll keep an eye on her. I don't trust my brother to not be distracted by his and Elena's break up and you're too young to be much help for her any way."

"That's my best friend in there and she's in danger. I'd give my life for her and there's no way I'm not helping protect her. I'd die before I'd let anyone hurt her." Caroline declared passionately. "And you're far more likely to get distracted by Elena than Stefan is."

"You aren't strong enough to protect Bonnie, not from a group of witches who have it out for vampires. And just so you know, my number one priority is protecting Bonnie, and there's no way Elena will distract me from that." Damon growled.

"Wow. I almost believe that you actually care about her." Caroline was shocked by his insistence that he be the one to protect Bonnie.

"Maybe I just don't want the only other person in this town with common sense to get herself killed." He retorted. "Besides, I know the most about witches and magic so it makes sense that I help her practice hers so she can actually defend herself."

"Fine. She stays with me at night, Stefan and I take her to school and watch over her there and you help her with her magic in the afternoons. In the mornings, you can find out more about the witches who are after her." Caroline declared, proud of her plan.

"Fine. Where is my baby bro anyway? I thought for sure he'd have come over here to whine about Elena breaking up with him."

"Wait, Elena broke up with Steven?" Caroline asked, wondering if he was alright. "I thought she wanted to stick with him even if it meant not telling him about her soulmate."

"What about her soulmate?" Damon glared at Caroline, daring her to not tell him.

"None of your business. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to check on Bonnie." she ran upstairs as fast as she could, trying to avoid any more of his questions. When she walked into her room, she found Bonnie asleep. Smiling softly, Caroline grabbed a blanket and pulled out over Bonnie. She decided Bonnie wouldn't appreciate being watched while she slept, so she left the room. On her way back downstairs, she heard the front door crashing open.

"What the hell happened? Are you alright?" Stefan grabbed Caroline and started looking her over, checking for any wounds.

"I'm fine. Where have you been? I called you like ten times. Bonnie was in trouble and I didn't know what to do." Caroline snapped, shaking him off.

"I turned my phone off. I just got your messages. What happened to Bonnie?"

"She was attacked, but don't worry your pretty little head. I already saved the day." Damon smirked proudly. "Sorry to mess up your brooding hero act."

"Brother. I see you've been busy." Stefan said while pointedly sniffing the air. Caroline looked at him strangely before sniffing the air herself. "Oh my God! You had sex with Elena?" She shrieked at Damon. "Right after she broke up with Stefan? I didn't think even you would do that!"

"Elena didn't break up with me, we were on a break. That I initiated." Stefan explained while still glaring at Damon. "What attacked Bonnie?" He asked, turning concerned eyes towards Caroline.

"Some witches who want her to kill all vampires and werewolves, you and Blondie keep an eye on her at school, I train her afterwards. What do you mean you broke up with her?" Damon rushed out before Caroline could say anything.

"I mean that she lied to me and I told her that we needed to take a break until I decided if I could trust her but I guess that decision has been made." Stefan growled.

"What did Elena lie to you about?" Caroline asked, trying to draw Stefan's attention back to her. As much as she wanted to see him kick Damon's ass, she didn't want it to be in her living room.

"About who my soulmate is." Stefan stared directly into her eyes, erasing any doubt that he didn't know.

"Shit." She grumbled.

"Wait, who's your soulmate?" Damon interrupted.

"I am." Caroline answered, quickly looking at Damon, grateful for the distraction. She knew Stefan was going to be mad at her for lying to him but she hoped he understood that it was partly out of respect for his and Elena's relationship.

"Does that mean I'm Elena's soulmate?" Damon questioned and Caroline could see the hope on his face.

"Contrary to you and Stefan's belief, there are other guys in the world who could be her soulmate." Caroline muttered with an eye roll.

"And other girls who could be mine?" Damon argued.

"I can't think of any who would actually put up with you." Caroline retorted.

"Cute, but you didn't answer my question. Are Elena and I soulmates?" Damon stepped menacingly closer before Stefan got in his way, matching Damon's glare.

"No, you're not. Happy?" Caroline smirked at Damon's disappointment while shoving Stefan out of the way and marching closer to Damon. "Stefan rejects Elena and you still don't belong with her." She gloated.

"That's enough." Stefan stepped back in between them. "Damon, can you go back to Elena? I need to talk to Caroline."

"Of course. Who am I to stay where I'm not wanted?"

"Usually the first in line." Stefan said dryly.

Damon just smirked before leaving. Stefan turned back to Caroline.

"Can we not do this now? I'm exhausted from trying to take care of Bonnie."

"Okay. How is she?"

"I think she's okay now that Damon got her out, but we need to watch out for her. Who knows when the crazy witches will be back." Caroline filled him in on everything that they knew.

"Damon really saved her?"

"I was as shocked as you. He came running right over as soon as I called."

"Actually, that sounds like him. He doesn't really trusts anyone else with her safety, even when he says he doesn't care about her." Stefan murmured thoughtfully.

"Whatever. I'm going to bed. Bonnie and I are skipping school today so if you want to hang out here, that's cool. You can sleep on the couch if you want." Caroline said before handing him some blankets and pillows and heading upstairs. She heard Stefan say a quick goodnight before she slipped into her bed with Bonnie. "Night" she whispered back before falling into a peaceful slumber.

DBDBDBDB

A few hours later, Stefan woke up and headed down to the kitchen to make breakfast. Despite being a vampire, he was still tired so he just grabbed some pop tarts for him and Caroline. He figured Bonnie would be asleep for a few more hours, so he didn't worry about her yet.

"Hey are those pop tarts?" Caroline asked groggily.

"Only the best for a princess." Stefan teased. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine. You?" Caroline said around a mouthful of pop tart.

"Your couch is surprisingly comfortable." He answered with a slight smile at the crumbs falling out of her mouth. He might be angry at her, but she could still make him laugh by doing the simplest of things. "You ready to talk?" He asked after she had eaten.

"I never meant to lie to you, Stefan. I just didn't want to betray Elena. I thought it was her business to tell you, not mine."

"I know that, Caroline. But it was your business and mine just as much as it was hers, so you had every right to tell me. Besides, she was never going to tell me herself." Stefan felt a deep sense of betrayal.

"I didn't know that at the time. I still thought she might tell you." Caroline defended.

"Maybe, but I still think you should have told me. It was our business too and I think it wouldn't have hurt so badly if I had heard it from you instead of overheating it by accident."

"Wait, she didn't tell you? Stefan, I'm so sorry. Who did you over hear?"

"Last night when you were talking. You should have told me." Stefan was still irritated at her.

"And if I had known she wasn't going to tell you, I would have, but I didn't. I stand by my decision. I was trying to remain loyal to both of you in an impossible situation and for all I knew, she was just waiting for a better time to tell you."

Stefan sighed. "Have I ever told you that I really hate it when you're right?"

"I'm surprised you're not used to it." She smiled.

Stefan smiled back. "I'm sorry I was so hard on you."

"You were going through a break up, I get it. Just don't let it happen again." She hugged him.

"Awww. You two made up. Does this mean I can finally get my coffee?" Bonnie asked patronizingly. She had clearly been standing just outside the door waiting for them to finish.

"Sorry Bon. How are you feeling?" Stefan asked while Caroline ran to make the coffee and a yogurt parfait.

"Better. Thanks. Did you and Lena really break up?" Bonnie asked after a few sips of coffee.

"Yeah, but I think it's for the best." He didn't want her pity so he quickly changed the subject. "How are we going to do your protection detail?"

"What protection detail?" Bonnie asked while looking suspiciously at Caroline.

"Sorry Bon but it has to be done. Can't have you dying on us just because you're to God damn stubborn to ask for help." Caroline declared authoritatively.

"Care, I think I've more than proved that I can take care of myself. I'm not going to let you risk your lives." Bonnie matches Caroline stare for stare.

"Yes but this is about how you shouldn't have to. I'm your best friend and I'm not letting you face this alone."

Stefan sensed a fight coming and decided to intervene. "Bonnie, Caroline's right. There's no need for you to be out on your own when powerful witches are after you and you have protection. Besides, they're coming after us too, so we're already in danger." He explained calmly.

"Fine. Who protects me when?"

"Stefan and I will protect you during the night and school hours, but Damon wants to practice magic with you in the afternoons." Caroline said, clearly happy that Bonnie had capitulated.

"What? Absolutely not. I don't want to spend any more time with him than strictly necessary." Bonnie objected.

"And I can't blame you but he does know more about witches than either of us." Caroline pointed out.

"That's what I have a grimoire for."

"Bonnie, even with a grimoire, you'll still benefit from some hands on instruction and practice." Stefan interrupted again.

"Fine but I'm doing this under protest." Bonnie grumbled.

"Noted." Stefan smiled at her irritation.

"Hey. Why do you listen to him and not me?" Caroline snapped.

"Because he has a level head." Bonnie was clearly still irritated about the whole situation.

"What does that mean?" Caroline demanded to know.

"It means that you tend to think more with your heart and Bonnie and I think more with our heads." Stefan was getting tired of intervening. He had never seen the two girls like this since they rarely fought. When Caroline still looked irritated, he continued. "Look, you tend to jump in head first and ask questions later while Bonnie and I think things through a bit more."

"Hey!" Caroline objected.

"I don't mean it as a bad thing." Stefan tried to defend himself.

"Well then how do you mean it?" Caroline asked while Bonnie stood off to the side laughing at their argument.

As Stefan was trying to formulate a reply, the doorbell rang.

"Got to get that. Don't think this lets you off the hook, mister." Caroline shot him a warning look before going to answer the door.

"I just meant that she doesn't worry as much as I do. She and Damon are both like that. It's not a bad thing. If everyone was like me and you we would all for of boredom." Stefan tried to explain to Bonnie, but he knew he was just digging himself in deeper.

"Are you calling me boring?" Bonnie asked, pretending to be offended.

"No. Just saying that if you and I didn't have Damon and Caroline, we'd never actually do anything fun."

"Wait. What do you mean I "have Damon"?" Bonnie asked with a panicked look.

"Actually, I meant that I had him. Why would you have him?" Stefan asked. When she didn't answer, Stefan noted her panicked look, remembered how Caroline had said Damon and Elena weren't soulmates, and thought about how well Bonnie and Damon understood each other and remembered how they always had each other's backs despite a mutually professed dislike. Then it occurred to him that if Elena and Caroline knew who their soulmates were, Bonnie probably did too. Realization dawned. "You're soulmates! I knew it!" He shouted.

"What? No! Are you kidding? Me and Damon!" Bonnie started to deny.

Stefan interrupted, grinning. "I always knew your fights were some messed up form of foreplay."

"What? Gross!" Bonnie shrieked.

"Sorry. Bonnie, I know you don't think he likes you, but I think he likes you more than you think he does." Stefan said more gently. "I think you two would be a good match, if you could both get your intolerable pride."

"That is so not true. All we do is fight."

"Like an old married couple." Stefan interrupted.

"We hate each other." Bonnie continued.

"Hate is just a hop, skip and a jump away from love." Stefan gloated.

"He's in love with Elena."

"No. He loved Katherine, it was messed up but he did. Elena's just the ultimate rebound. Looks just like his ex but without her repulsive personality and with the added benefit of getting a redo on our competition. Eventually he'll figure out that he's only interested because of her resemblance to Katherine and he'll move on." Stefan explained. He had thought that before he and Elena broke up and his opinion hadn't really changed. Maybe he had been blinded by hope that Damon would move on, but honestly, he had always kinda wanted Bonnie and Damon to get together. When his brother was with Bonnie, he was a lot closer to who he had been before Katherine. Sure, he was still an ass, but he was more human. Stefan also knew that if Damon was with Bonnie, he would protect her and keep her from constantly risking her life.

Bonnie clearly didn't see it that way as she was still pointing out all their problems. "He tried to kill me, he did kill Jeremy, and most importantly, you know what he did to Caroline. How could I ever love him after all of that?"

Stefan froze. He had forgotten about that.

Bonnie glared at him. "You forgot? What is wrong with you? You said she was your best friend. Clearly you aren't hers. I know you and Elena like to pretend that Damon didn't rape her, but he did. She remembers enough to know that. Her hatred of Damon is justified and you and Elena should remember that."

"I know. I feel like shit." He murmured guiltily.

"You should. And never tell her that she and Damon are anything alike." Bonnie instructed, letting her obvious threat remain unspoken.

"I won't." Stefan promised.

DBDBDBDB

Tyler stood on Caroline's porch, waiting for her to answer the door. He felt guilty about how he had treated her when he found out about her and Stefan.

"Tyler?" Caroline asked.

"Hey Caroline." Tyler turned and looked at Caroline standing in her doorway. She looked tired. She wasn't wearing any makeup and was still wearing her pjs, which really worried him. If she was seen in public, even answering the door, she always dressed to impress. "Are you alright?" He asked, completely forgetting what he had come here to talk to her about.

"Yeah, just a long night. What's up?" Caroline said while she stepped into the porch and closed the front door.

"Oh um. I wanted to apologize for how I acted the other day. I shouldn't have treated you that way. I was feeling insecure about myself and I took it out on you." Tyler said. He felt really bad for treating her like that. It wasn't her fault and she had been honest with him from the beginning.

"I forgive you. I know what it's like to feel insecure in a relationship. Makes you do some stupid stuff." Caroline smiled gently.

"We good?"

"Yeah, but there's something else you should know. I wasn't sure if I should tell you this but a friend pointed out that it's your business too, so here goes. When Bonnie did the soulmate spell, we found out that you're Elena's. Soulmate, that is, you don't actually belong to her." Caroline laughed nervously.

"Elena?" Tyler asked disbelievingly. There was no way Elena Gilbert was his soulmate. He barely even liked her. In fact, he only tolerated her for his girlfriend's sake. "Well now we know the spell was definitely wrong. There's no way Elena and I are meant to be together." He laughed at the absurdity of it all. He was one of the very few guys he knew that had never been interested in her. While everyone else loved her innocence and kindness, he had always felt that it hid a manipulative side which just became more apparent when the Salvatores showed up.

Caroline gave him a relieved smile. He knew that despite significant improvement, she still harbored a few insecurities where Elena was concerned. He grinned at her before turning serious. "Now tell me what had you bothered last night."

After Caroline filled him in about the Bonnie situation, he offered to help in any way he could.

"I think if you and Stefan take turns helping me guard her, that'd be good. Since we have it covered today, you should go to school. That way you can let Alaric know what's happening and ask him to research anything he can about this group." Caroline commanded.

Tyler felt a twinge of jealousy that she was hanging out with Stefan, but he didn't want to be a jealous jerk, especially when she had said repeatedly that she chose him, so he ignored it. "Sounds good. I'll have to leave now if I want to make second period. Love you." He stole a kiss before dashing back to his car to drive to school.

"Love you too." He heard Caroline shout as he shut his car door.

DBDBDBDB

Damon walked into the boarding house. Stefan's revelation that he had broken up with Elena and not the other way around bothered him. Despite Elena never actually saying it, he had assumed that she finally decided she wanted to be with him and then broke up with Stefan. Although, if he wanted to be honest, part of him had known that was the case. The little voice that kept reminding him that he didn't want to be Stefan's replacement had never shut up. Not through their entire encounter. _I can't be second place again. I don't want to be just a full in for Stefan. Not again._ And then there was the fact that he wasn't her soulmate to consider. He wanted to ask her about all of it but she had already left. It was a school day, but he doubted that was where she went. Despite all her profession of how she wanted to be a normal girl, she didn't have much interest in behaving like one or doing normal activities if she didn't see immediate benefit. _Probably chasing Stefan._ He thought bitterly. Deciding he needed a distraction from his romantic woes, he started to look into the witch situation.

"Tommy, how's Holland treating you?" Damon asked his fifth call. None of the others had known anything but had all agreed to keep an eye out. Tommy was his last hope since he didn't really have any one else to call. He had plenty of friends but most of them were too busy looking out for themselves to be trustworthy or helpful.

"Damon Salvatore. Long time since I heard from you. What can I do for you?" Tommy asked.

"Heard anything about a coven of witches who are out to end all vampires and werewolves? Call us abominations and give witches tests to decide if they're chosen." Damon knew it wasn't much information, but he hoped it was unique enough to ring a few bells.

"Yeah I've heard of them. How'd you get mixed up with the Aloquoi coven?"

Damon was shocked. After his first few calls, has had started to think the witches were unheard of. "Long story but I know the witch they're trying to get to join up. What can you tell me about them?"

"Aren't you the one who taught me that nothing's free in this life? What can you give me in exchange?"

"You forget that I saved your life." Damon growled, not really interested in bartering.

"Against my will, if I remember correctly. I owe you nothing. What can you trade me?" Tommy asked with a chuckle.

"Come on that part wasn't my fault." Damon groaned.

"Regardless."

"Fine. What do you want?"

"I want to talk to Bonnie Bennett." Tommy said, all joking aside.

"How the hell do you know about her?" Damon asked darkly. Last he had checked, Bonnie was still not well known, despite defeating Klaus.

"So you do know her. Personally, I mean. I thought you might, since you were supposed to guard her family and everything. Wait... she's not their new convert, is she?" Tommy actually sounded worried, a rarity, causing Damon to answer seriously and forgo his usual sarcasm.

"Not yet but they're trying. Why?"

"I knew they were coming for her, I just didn't think they'd get there so soon." Tommy murmured, ignoring Damon's question.

"You knew they were coming and you didn't think to tell me?" Damon was as angry as he ever remembered being.

"Why would I? From what I hear, you're not exactly protector of the year. Last I heard, you were too busy chasing Katherine's twin to actually be concerned with a witch."

Damon growled. It irked him that Tommy hasn't told him, but he decided to ignore it for now in favor of getting more information from him. "Whatever. Why do they want Bonnie?"

"Can't tell you that over the phone. I'll meet you tomorrow. You still at the boarding house?"

"What do you mean you can't tell me over the phone? Tell me why Bonnie's in danger!"

"Nope. I'm telling Bonnie and Bonnie only. I'll see you tomorrow. Make sure she's there." Tommy hung up, causing Damon to throw his phone at the wall and growl with frustration.

"Wow. What'd the phone do to you?"

Damon spun around to find Bonnie standing in the doorway. She was wearing brown, beat up combat boots laced tightly to her calves, the same ones from last night, and some short, dark jean shorts, all of which served to emphasize her toned legs. Her torso was clothed in a pale blue and yellow button up shirt with elbow length sleeves. She had left it unbuttoned, revealing a dark purple tank top that brought out her green eyes. Her hair was curled and pulled into a practical ponytail, drawing attention to her graceful neck. Damon couldn't help but stare. He had always known she was attractive, but right now she looked incredible. Where her normal clothes usually attempted to hide her body, these clothes accentuated it. Doubtless she had borrowed them from Caroline, as almost none of it fit her typical wardrobe. _She should let Blondie dress her more often. She looks beautiful._ Just as he was about to tell her this, he saw Stefan and Caroline appear behind her. Despite his relief that they had saved him from embarrassing himself in front of the witch, Damon couldn't help but glare.

"Is there any particular reason you all have decided to invade my privacy?" He snapped.

"You are aware that I live here too, right?" Stefan pointed out.

"So you should know just how much I value privacy." Damon argued.

"Almost as much as you value manners." Stefan said, causing both Caroline and Bonnie to laugh. Damon didn't like the twinge of jealousy he felt when Bonnie giggled at his brother.

"Whatever. Why are you here?" Damon asked, getting down to business.

"You're going to help me with my magic, remember?" Bonnie explained.

"Well that explains why you're here but not Blondie and Broody."

"We're going to look through the library to see if we can find anything about the witches who attacked Bonnie." Stefan told him.

"Look for the Aloquoi coven. One of my contacts mentioned the name." Damon instructed.

"Aloquoi coven. Got it. They mention anything else?" Caroline asked.

"Nope. Let's go, Witch." Damon grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face the door.

"Wait. That sounds like a good lead. Don't you think we should stay here and help research?" Bonnie asked, her heart rate increasing.

Damon rolled his eyes at her obvious attempt to avoid him. He decided to ask her about her nervousness when they got outside. "No can do, Bon Bon. You need to be able to defend yourself when they come back and the best way to do that is practice." He said, pushing her towards the door, using his hands on her shoulders to guide her.

"Fine." Bonnie grumbled. "Call us if you find anything." She called to Caroline.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Here's the next chapter. Just a heads up, school officially starts tomorrow so updates might not be as consistent.**

 **At this point, everyone knows about Steroline, the girls and Tyler know about T/E, and Stefan, Caroline and Bonnie know about Bamon.**

Bonnie followed Damon through the woods, relieved that he had stopped touching her. She didn't like that just his hands on her shoulders could have such a strong effect on her, but she told herself it was just because of her fear that he would find out about being her soulmate. If he did, he would never stop teasing her.

Finally, they reached a clearing. "So tell me what you can do." Damon ordered, turning to face her.

"You sure you don't want me to show you?" She couldn't help taunting.

Damon smirked at her. "Can you do any blocking spells?" Bonnie must have looked confused because he started to explain. "Fighting witches is different than fighting weres or vamps. They can send spells at you, so you can't rely on throwing them away from you in order to protect yourself. You need to be able to block spells. Look through your grimoire for any wards, charms, or spells that could protect you."

Bonnie couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that. She sighed and took a seat on the ground. Flipping open her grimoire, she started searching. Suddenly, she felt Damon sit down beside her and start looking over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" She asked, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.

"Helping." He said without taking his eyes off the page.

"Well can you help from somewhere else?"

"Not if I want to be able to read. Why? Am I making you nervous?" He asked, finally looking at her with his trademark smirk.

"No. I just don't see why you have to read it with me." Bonnie glowered.

"Helping, remember? I might spot something you miss." He said before returning his gaze to the page.

Bonnie sighed. She knew there was no arguing with him so she resumed her search.

"What about this one?" She pointed to an enchantment that she could use on an object to help block spells. "Just charm a piece of jewelry and it will block attack spells."

"That could work. The enchantment won't be permanent though. It would start wearing off every time it has to block anything." Damon murmured thoughtfully.

"True, but it could be used to block spells I don't see coming."

"Just make sure you memorize lots of blocking spells. This charm should only be a last resort, a safety net."

"Agreed." Bonnie marked the page to attempt the spell later.

After another hour or so of searching, they had found another dozen or so protection spells she could use to block or ward off magical attacks. She had already memorized the three simplest, and had marked all of the pages for practice later.

"That should cover protection for now." Damon said. "How about we work some on attacking?"

"Sounds good. I just about need a break anyway." Bonnie got up as Damon walked a few steps away before turning to face her.

"Pretend I'm a witch about to attack you. What's the first thing you do?"

"Well, they're probably warded against magical attacks, so I wouldn't attack directly. I guess I'd start using the area around me. Use magic to create physical attacks."

"Not bad. Show me."

Bonnie concentrated on the world around her. She felt rather than saw a large branch directly over his head. With a magical push, she broke the branch, sending it plummeting towards his head. At the last second, Damon dodged out of the way and shot towards her. She instinctively threw him into a tree.

"I thought you just said they would be warded against that." Damon snapped, shooting back in front of her.

"I thought you were pretending to be a witch. Witches can't actually move that fast." She fired back.

"Hey, don't pretend it's my fault you aren't good at this." Damon smirked.

"Maybe you should stick to the rules." Bonnie yelled. She hated when people questioned her competency, especially when those people were constantly asking for her help.

"You think they'll stick to the rules? They will do whatever it takes to get you to join them, and no "rules" are going to stop them." Damon yelled back.

"Well they won't be able to move like vampires! Maybe you should at least stick to their physical limitations!"

"Did you not hear what I just said? You have to be prepared for anything, Bonnie. They won't hesitate to use whatever they can against you. You can't hesitate either."

"I can't do this with you. I can't believe everyone thought training with you was a good idea." Bonnie turned and began storming off.

"I'm just trying to prepare you for what's coming." Damon sounded calmer. Still angry, but calmer. Bonnie knew he was right. The witches were unlike anything she had faced and she needed to be prepared.

"Fine." Bonnie started walking back. "We'll keep practicing."

"Or we could talk about why you're so nervous around me."

"What? No I'm not." Bonnie denied. She didn't like that he had surprised her with the question.

"Yes you are. I can hear your heartbeat, remember?" Damon smirked, clearly proud that he had caught her unaware.

 _Probably why he asked right after an argument. He doesn't think I'll be as good at lying._ Bonnie thought. What she said was "You're a homicidal maniac. Why wouldn't I be nervous?" She hoped this cover story would be more believable than her earlier denials.

"That's been true as long as you've known me, but it stopped making you nervous some time ago. Then, all of the sudden, you start being frightened of me? I don't think so."

"Well maybe I started thinking about it again." Bonnie stuck to her story even though she knew it was a lost cause.

"Come on, Bonnie. We both know that's not the reason. Spill."

"Fine. I…" Bonnie couldn't think of a believable lie and there was no way she was telling him the truth.

"Yes?" Damon prompted after a couple seconds pause.

"I had a sex dream about you." Bonnie blurted out before covering her mouth, eyes wide. She couldn't believe she just said that. Of all the lies in all the worlds, why did that one have to come out of her mouth?

Damon actually froze. Bonnie let herself feel a little bit of pride at the fact that she had caused Damon Salvatore, comeback king extraordinaire, to lose his ability to speak. However, he recovered quickly.

"And now you want to find out if I'm actually that good? Don't worry, I don't disappoint." He gloated.

Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Wait. Does this mean that you have a crush on me? Cause that would explain a lot. How you always seem to pick on me, all the heated glares. You were just expressing your love." He said condescendingly.

It'd barely been thirty seconds and Bonnie was already sick of his gloating. "That's not it at all." She snapped.

"Oh I think it is. I think the judgmental little witch has a crush on the big, bad vampire." Damon continued to gloat.

"I do not have a crush on you. I don't even like you."

"Then what is it?" Damon smirked, clearly thinking she couldn't possibly have another explanation.

"You were really bad, okay?" Bonnie snapped, hoping the blow to his ego would stop the bragging. She continued after some hesitation. " **It** was really small and you couldn't actually… get me to… you know." She knew she was blushing furiously but soldiered on, figuring that she might as well go all in at this point. "Every time you… got it up, your nose would start to bleed. Now every time I look at you all I can see is your nose gushing blood." Despite not a word of it being true, Bonnie was still embarrassed. She didn't usually talk about sex, especially not with Damon.

Damon was shocked into silence for the second time, which did relieve a little of Bonnie's embarrassment.

"You can't even say dick or orgasm, can you?" Unfortunately, he recovered quickly.

"Really? That's the part of that story you want to focus on?" Bonnie deflected.

"If you'd rather, I can prove every part of your dream wrong right now." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

"You are so full of yourself."

"I prefer the term "cocky", but sure." He smirked proudly at his innuendo.

"You're disgusting." Bonnie retorted.

"Damon?" They both turned to find Elena standing at the edge of the clearing.

"Elena? How'd you find us?" Bonnie asked when it became clear Damon wasn't going to answer.

"I went by the boarding house looking for Damon and Caroline said the two of you were out here practicing magic. What's going on?" Elena asked in a confused tone.

"I'm practicing magic so that I can fight the witches who are coming after me." Bonnie explained, still wondering why Damon was so quiet.

"Why are witches coming after you?"

"They want me to help them kill all vampires and werewolves."

"Bonnie, you can't do that." Elena was quick to say.

"I know that. Why do you think I'm practicing to fight them?" Bonnie barely contained her sarcasm. Despite Caroline's assumptions, Bonnie was acutely aware of how Elena was always more concerned about the Salvatore brothers then her so called "best friends".

"Good. How do you know they're after you?"

"They trapped me in a dream last night and told me that I would join them." Bonnie was trying to hold back as much information as possible. She didn't want Elena to interfere with any plans they made.

"Oh my god, are you all right?" Elena asked, finally sounding concerned.

"I'm fine. Damon managed to pull me out."

"Thank you." Elena turned towards Damon, smiling widely. "Thanks for saving my best friend." She said while walking over to him and running her hands through his hair.

Bonnie hid her irritation at Elena's implication that Damon only saved her for Elena. She smirked at Damon, knowing that he was about to prove her assertions about his motivations correct. She ignored the feeling in her stomach and the voice in the back of her head telling her that just this once, she wouldn't mind being wrong.

Damon glanced at her over Elena's shoulder. "Actually, Elena, I didn't save her for you." He said, returning Bonnie's smirk.

"You didn't?" Elena didn't sound very happy about that.

"What would I do without my own Jiminy Cricket?" He asked, looking proud that he had just proved Bonnie wrong.

"Damon, I'm so proud of you. Is that why you weren't in bed this morning?" Elena immediately turned the conversation back towards her.

"You two slept together? Didn't you and Stefan just break up?" Bonnie burst out. While she knew that Elena had the right to sleep with whoever she wanted, sleeping with her ex's brother who constantly interfered in their relationship showed an extreme lack of respect and concern for Stefan's feelings.

Elena glowered at her.

"Right. I'm gonna go now." Bonnie said before turning to rush off.

"Where do you think you're going?" Damon appeared right in front of her, causing her to crash into his chest. When she started to fall backwards, he caught her by the arms.

"Back to the boarding house." She brushed his hands off. "I don't really want to hear this conversation."

"Sure, but don't you think you owe me something?" He replied.

Bonnie knew exactly what he was talking about. "Fine. Thank you for saving me. Happy now?" She rolled her eyes, but it was far more playful than she originally intended. She knew she shouldn't be so happy that it hadn't been about Elena, but she really couldn't help it.

"For thanks like that, I should save your life more often." Damon retorted, just as playful.

Bonnie laughed and began to brush by him.

"Before I forget," He said, grabbing her arm gently, "you need to come by the house tomorrow morning. My contact is coming and he won't tell anyone about the Aloquoi coven except for you."

"Damon, I can't miss school two days in a row." Bonnie argued.

"Sure you can. This is life or death." Damon said as if that solved everything.

"Yes it is, and the whole point of fighting for your life is that you have one. School is part of my life and I'm not just going to drop it until its convenient, which, knowing my life, would be never."

"Bonnie, he won't talk to me. You have to be there." Damon was sounding annoyed again.

"And I will. After school." Bonnie's annoyance matched his.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Why do you have to control everyone else's lives?"

"Because I know best!" Damon shouted.

"No you don't!" Bonnie shouted just as loud. "You don't know anything about how to live my life and you don't get to tell me how to live it! Now I am going back to the boarding house. I will see you tomorrow after school and not a minute earlier." She marched off towards the house, grimoire in hand.

"Stubborn little witch." He yelled from behind her.

Upon entering the house, Bonnie slammed the door as hard as she could. Stefan and Caroline appeared in front of her in an instant.

"What's wrong? Where's Damon?" Caroline asked.

"We had a fight. He stayed behind to talk to Elena." Bonnie grumbled and started pacing. She saw Caroline and Stefan share a look.

"What'd he do?"

"He was typical Damon. Tried to order me around and tell me how to live my life." Bonnie said, exasperated.

"And you told him off, he got mad, then you stormed off." Caroline finished. "What? I know how your fights work." She said after Bonnie glared at her.

"Did you at least get some practice in?" Stefan looked concerned.

"Yeah. I found several defensive spells and charms. I'm going to charm protective objects for me, you two, Damon and Tyler tonight. I'll get Jeremy, Elena and Rick in a few days after I have a chance to recharge."

"Bonnie, you don't have to do all of ours tonight. You can spread it out over the next few days so you don't get as tired." Stefan said.

"No. You're all supernatural so they're going to come after you soon. I need to know that you're protected."

"Bonnie, they're coming after you first. We need to protect you." Caroline argued.

"No. They're not coming to kill me. They need me to join them. What do you think is the easiest way to do that?"

"Threaten us." Caroline whispered, realization dawning.

Bonnie nodded. Despite Damon's reassurance, her biggest fear was still that she would be manipulated into joining up and killing people.

"Okay, but only because it will protect you." Caroline finally agreed.

Bonnie nodded and resumed pacing. She was still stressed over the witches and pissed at Damon.

"Bonnie, relax. We'll figure this out." Stefan said.

"Bonnie, you need to relax. Think about something else." Caroline instructed. They had returned to the library and Stefan and Caroline had resumed research while Bonnie paced.

"I can't. The only other thing I can think about is my fight with Damon."

"So he wants to control you. It's not like you'll let him." Caroline still had her nose in a book, which was rare. Caroline hated research, and the fact that she was still reading told Bonnie just how much she cared.

"No, it's not that. I might have done something stupid." She saw Stefan raise his eyebrows at that before taking a sip of scotch.

"I might've told Damon I had a sex dream about him."

Stefan spit his drink all over the table and books he and Caroline had in front of them.

"What?" Caroline shrieked. "You had a sex dream about Damon?" She continued while patting Stefan's back to calm his coughing fit.

"I didn't **actually** have one. I told him I did." Bonnie explained.

"Well that clears everything up." Stefan said when his cough had calmed.

"Why would you tell him that?" Caroline was still shouting.

"Ssshhh. Not so loud. He kept asking why I was so nervous around him all of the sudden and I couldn't tell him the truth." Bonnie explained.

"So you went with sex dream?" Caroline hissed.

"I panicked, okay?" Bonnie hissed back. "It just kinda… came out."

Stefan was trying to hide his laughter without much success, catching Caroline's attention.

"Uhh… Bon?" She nodded towards Stefan. Bonnie looked at her for a second, confused.

"Do you wanna talk about this with him?" Caroline faux whispered.

Understanding struck. "Relax, Care, he already figured it out." Bonnie explained.

"Oh. Okay." Caroline nodded. "Getting back to what's really important here, what did Damon say?"

"Well, at first he didn't say anything." Bonnie started.

"Damon lost for words? Wish I could've seen that." Stefan said with an impressed look.

"It didn't last long. He started bragging, which of course pissed me off, so I decided to go all in. I started making up stuff about how bad he was."

"And that's all I need to hear." Stefan jumped in.

"It's not like I was going to go into details." Bonnie said with an eye roll.

"Just one that I can tease him about later?" Caroline begged.

"Dude, that's my brother."

"Well, I said he kept getting nose bleeds every time he got it up. Sorry Stef." She apologized at his disgusted expression.

"Bonnie Bennett, you are my hero." Caroline declared, deadly serious.

BDBDBD

"Ugh." Caroline grunted before slamming her book shut. "I can't find anything. I think it's time for us to call it a day."

"You and Bonnie go ahead and go home. I'll stay and keep going." Stefan answered. He really wanted to get through as much of the research as possible.

"Stefan, come on. We've been researching all day. Tyler and Matt are gonna meet me and Bonnie at the grill. You should come too." Caroline said while collecting her stuff.

"I want to get as much done tonight as possible. What time do I need to be at Bonnie's tonight?" Stefan asked.

"Stefan Salvatore, you have been working all day. You can take a break and come to the grill. The books will still be here."

Stefan didn't look convinced so Caroline continued. "Bonnie is wiped from all the spells she did today and she needs to take a break and she won't do that if she feels guilty about you still working."

Stefan sighed. He knew Bonnie needed a break since she had already warded the boarding house and placed protective charms on rings for him, Caroline, Damon, Tyler and herself. She was going to ward her house tonight and then the Forbes' on the way to school tomorrow. "Alright. Let's go."

Caroline grinned triumphantly. "Bonnie?" She called. "We're going to the grill before I take you home."

"Okay." Bonnie came back into the room. She looked exhausted. "Is Matt bringing our homework?"

"I begged him not to but he knows how you are." Caroline chuckled.

"Good." Bonnie said with a tired smile.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road before you fall asleep." Caroline wrapped an arm around Bonnie, guiding her out the front door, Stefan following, only to almost crash into them when they stopped abruptly. Peering over their shoulders, he saw Damon and Elena. He had managed to avoid Elena when she came by earlier, sending Caroline out to talk to her instead, but he knew that now he had no choice.

"Hey guys." Elena greeted before looking guiltily at Stefan.

"Hey Elena." Bonnie answered while Caroline pulled her around Elena, effectively snubbing her. Stefan followed, ignoring the pair. They started to get into Stefan's car, Caroline helping Bonnie into the backseat while Stefan started it.

"Where are you going?" Elena called, sounding upset.

"Nowhere." Caroline yelled back while quickly shutting Bonnie's car door, preventing her from telling Elena and then climbing into the passenger seat. Elena looked ready to go after them, but Damon stopped her, whispering something in her ear. She looked at him and nodded before shooting a betrayed look Stefan's way. Stefan quickly backed out of the driveway.

"Caroline, you don't have to hate her. I broke up with her, remember?" Stefan said once they were on their way.

"Yeah, but you broke up with her because she was lying to you." Caroline pointed out defensively.

"That doesn't mean you should let it destroy your friendship. This is between me and her." Stefan responded calmly, trying to sound reasonable. He really didn't want Caroline ruining a lifelong friendship because of him.

"And if she had just lied to you, I would agree, but she also put me in a position where I had to lie to you."

"Then talk to her about that. She's one of your best friends. One mistake shouldn't destroy that."

"It's not just one mistake. It's how she treats me and Bonnie. No offense, but ever since you came to town she could care less about us. This is just the final straw in a big pile of straws." Caroline was almost shouting. Stefan hadn't realized that until Caroline pointed it out and began to feel guilty.

"Caroline…" Bonnie interrupted.

"No, Bonnie. I'm not letting her walk all over me anymore. You either. This has to stop."

"Have you talked to her about this?" Bonnie remained calm.

"I shouldn't have to."

"No, you shouldn't, but we all get caught up in ourselves sometimes. Just talk to her. If nothing changes, you can walk away guilt free, but if you don't, some part of you will eventually regret it."

"So just give her an ultimatum?" Caroline asked incredulously.

"That's exactly what you do. I did, and it made my decision for me." Stefan took over from Bonnie again. "You're right. She can't keep treating you like this. Either of you." He emphasized, looking in the mirror to make sure Bonnie understood. "Let her know that what she's doing is unacceptable. If she wants to work on it, great, if not, walk away."

"How can you even defend her?"

"Because, Caroline, whatever decision you make, you have to live with forever. Trust me, you don't want to make the wrong one and never be able to correct it." Stefan said, finally getting to his main reason for trying to salvage their friendship. Elena would die someday, and Caroline would never get to redo their friendship. He didn't want her to live with regret from walking away for the rest of her life.

"How did you get to be so wise?" She asked after thinking for a couple seconds, finally calm.

"I'm really old, remember?" He asked, glad that she saw his point.

Caroline laughed. "I keep forgetting just how old you are. You still look super hot." Caroline blushed when she realized what she had said.

"I never forget. You're always acting like an old man." Bonnie said from the back seat, breaking the awkwardness before it could even fully settle. Stefan smiled at her, grateful for the rescue.

"That's not true. You just think that because you've never seen his fun side." Caroline argued back. Stefan chuckled, glad that Caroline believed he had a fun side and was willing to defend him.

"Wow, Stefan, you have a fun side? When do I get to see it?" Bonnie teased good naturedly.

"Tonight, if you don't fall asleep first." Stefan retorted.

Bonnie and Caroline both started laughing.

When they reached the Grill, they found Tyler and Matt waiting for them. After they took a seat and ordered, they filled Matt in and exchanged notes on what they had found on the witches, which was a big load of nothing on all sides. Bonnie informed them that Damon had a contact who might know something coming in tomorrow, so the disappointment in their lack of information was slightly mitigated.

Their food arrived and Tyler and Matt filled them in on everything that happened at school, giving homework news to Bonnie and gossip to Caroline. Apparently Michelle and Tony were finally hooking up and Dean was out of the closet, which made everyone cheer.

"Wow, skip school for one day and everything happens." Caroline whined playfully.

"I for one want to support him." Matt said. "It's hard enough coming out, especially in a small town."

"Yeah. I hope nobody gives him a hard time." Bonnie agreed.

The conversation moved on to how hard the math homework was. "I am definitely going to need somebodies help." Tyler moaned, making everyone else laugh.

"Bonnie and I will help you tonight when we're at her house." Caroline comforted.

"Wait, why are you going to her house?" Stefan asked.

"We figured we'd give you the night off and Tyler and I would hang out at her house to make sure she's okay." Caroline explained.

"Okay, as long as you don't start making out. You can't be distracted." Stefan directed. Tyler glared at him. Stefan knew it probably wasn't the best thing to say, since Tyler knew he was Caroline's soulmate, but it was a legitimate concern and he wasn't going to be intimidated out of it.

"Relax. We'll do homework and then I'll sleep with Bonnie while he's on the couch." Caroline jumped in.

"Now that's something I want to see. You two all curled up, in your underwear, maybe having a pillow fight." Tyler said.

Caroline slapped his shoulder and the resulting laughter eased the tension. However, the fun mood didn't last long. The bell above the door rang, and Stefan spotted Elena and Damon entering. Unfortunately, they spotted the group and headed over towards them.

"Hey guys." Elena said brightly before turning to Stefan. "Can we talk?"

Stefan sighed and nodded. As much as he didn't want to talk to her, he knew that he needed to completely end things with her. They had left it kind of open last time they talked and he knew that they both needed closure. He followed her out into the parking lot.

"Stefan, I'm sorry." She started, turning her big brown, tear-filled eyes towards him.

"Save it, Elena. Whatever we had is completely gone." He said, not caring enough to try to be gently right now. "And I don't particularly want your apology."

"Stefan, you told me to figure out my feelings for Damon." She cried.

"Yeah, think about them, talk about them with him and maybe Caroline and Bonnie. Not jump into bed with him five minutes after telling me that you would always choose me." Stefan snapped.

"Stefan, that's not fair."

"Yes, it is. I have no interest in competing with my brother for my own girlfriend's affection."

"What if I told you that I made a mistake? That it's still you? That all this did was confirm that you're it for me?" She cried quietly.

"Then I would tell you to break up with my brother. He doesn't deserve to have to compete for someone's love. Not again." Stefan said, exasperated with this whole conversation.

"Would you want to try again?" She asked, nearly whispering.

"No, Elena, I wouldn't. You slept with him the night you told me I would always be your choice. Can you really expect me to trust you after that?" He asked tiredly.

"Stefan, please." She whispered.

"No. We're over. And I need you to give me some space." He said before heading back into the grill. He heard her sob quietly, but didn't turn around.

Upon entering, his jaw nearly hit the floor. In front of him were Bonnie and Damon, dancing around the semi open floor, laughing together. Damon spun Bonnie out before pulling her back into his arms.

"Weren't they fighting?" Stefan asked Caroline, making his back to the table.

"Yep. But Matt started dancing with her and then Damon cut in and I guess they made up." She said.

"You guess? You weren't listening in?" He teased.

"I wouldn't do that." She defended. At Stefan's skeptical look, she continued. "Besides, the music was too loud. I couldn't hear a damn thing."

"There we go." Tyler said, earning another slap.

Stefan looked back at Bonnie and Damon. "I wanna follow you guys to Bonnie's house, help you check it out. Make sure she's safe." He said.

"Okay. You ready to head out now?" Caroline asked.

"Just let me pay the bill." He replied heading over to the counter.

Caroline collected Bonnie and the two girls rode over to the Bennett house in Tyler's car with Stefan following. After he checked it out and made sure there hadn't been any break-ins, he drove back to his house.

As soon as he got inside, the smell of sex hit him. Specifically, Elena and Damon sex. He promptly turned around to exit, but was stopped by Damon calling his name.

"Aren't you a little busy, brother?" Stefan replied.

"Actually, we just finished." Damon smirked. "Wait." He said when Stefan turned around to leave. "I just wanted to say that… I'm sorry." He said, uncharacteristically serious.

"No you're not. You're not sorry that she chose you, that you finally won." Stefan corrected.

"No. But I am sorry that you got hurt."

Stefan left without responding.

BDBDBD

Damon stared after his brother. He knew he deserved that and everything else Stefan could possibly throw, but he had hoped that Stefan would be alright.

He heard Elena roll over and settle back into sleep, causing him to remember their earlier conversation.

 _Flashback: Still fuming at Bonnie, Damon turned back to look at Elena._

 _"I came to talk about why you weren't in bed this morning, but I guess I know now. Saving Bonnie takes priority." She murmured, smiling proudly at him before reaching for his hand._

 _He stepped out of reach. "You said you broke up with Stefan." It was a statement, not a question._

 _"No, I said Stefan and I broke up." She explained, looking vaguely irritated._

 _"Conveniently implying that you broke up with him instead of the other way around." Damon snapped. If she had broken up with Stefan, he would've known that he was her first choice. However, with it being the other way around, he couldn't be sure._

 _"Damon, you're still my choice. You knew before we broke up that I had feelings for you. Maybe Stefan beat me to the punch, but we were on our way out anyway. I didn't make this decision because he broke up with me. I made it because I love you."_

 _"And what about the fact that I'm not your soulmate? Doesn't that bother you at all? You're all about romantic shit like that." He growled._

 _"Damon, Bonnie probably did the spell wrong. You and I belong together. You complete me. When I'm with you, I'm happy." Elena declared passionately._

 _He stared at her. She was choosing him over her soulmate. She believed they belonged together. Some small part of him still doubted her, but her absolute refusal to go after her soulmate cemented his trust in her._

 _End of Flashback._

Finally, Damon had won. He got the girl. As he watched her sleep, his thoughts drifted back towards the witch.

 _Damon and Elena walked into the Grill. When Stefan, Bonnie, and Caroline left, Elena had been upset until Damon told her they were probably going to the Grill and they would meet them there. Upon arriving, Elena had immediately asked to talk to Stefan. On the way over, she had said that she wanted to make sure that Stefan had all the closure he needed. Damon had wanted to tell her about what Stefan had said about not trusting her and that he doubtless considered their relationship over, but he didn't want to hurt her, not when she was so happy with him. However, that didn't stop him from feeling jealousy when they walked out the door together._

 _After a couple seconds of awkward silence, Matt had grabbed Bonnie's hand and pulled her out of her seat, insisting that they dance. Initially, Bonnie had refused, but when Damon said the song wasn't a good dancing song, she had suddenly accepted. He knew that she was just dancing with the Mutt to spite him, but he still didn't like the sight of her in his arms._

 _Marching over, he pulled her out of Matt's arms, firm enough that she came but gentle enough that he didn't hurt her. He spun her around so that their chests were pressed together and started dancing with her._

 _"I thought this song wasn't a dancing song." She threw his earlier words back in his face._

 _He shrugged, causing her to glare and attempt to pull away._

 _"It's not, but if this is what you meant when you said you wanted a life to return to, it's not actually all that crazy." He explained while pulling her back towards him._

 _She stared at him for a couple of seconds. "You should write apology cards for Hallmark."_

 _"This isn't an apology." He retorted, ignoring how she fit perfectly in his arms._

 _"And this isn't an 'I forgive you'. It is, however, a 'don't even think of doing it again'." She said with a slight smile._

 _"Wait, does that mean I should do it again?" He asked. He noticed that despite the eye roll, she still smiled and there was definitely a playful look in her eyes. "What? I'm getting confused by our code."_

 _"How? You invented it."_

 _"Precisely. That means it makes no sense whatsoever."_

 _She actually laughed this time. Damon couldn't help but grin with pride that he had been the one to pull that sound from her. He spun her out and then pulled her back, this time with her back against his front. She followed his lead gracefully and naturally through a few more seconds of the dance before speaking._

 _"You know, if you keep apologizing to me, I might start to think I'm special."_

 _"Wouldn't want that. You might start to get an even bigger head."_

 _"As if I'm the one with that problem." She retorted._

 _"Uh-uh. I already admitted to one flaw tonight and you haven't, so you must be the proud one."_

 _"What flaw did you admit to?" Bonnie scoffed, never losing her light-heartedness._

 _"When I said that my codes don't make any sense." Damon tossed back._

 _"That doesn't count. You're proud of that."_

 _"True, but it was still a moment of vulnerability on my part, so it should count." He tried to school his features into a vulnerable expression, but her laughter made him lose it and he started laughing too._

 _Bonnie looked like she was about to say something when Caroline called her back to the table._

 _Damon followed and noticed Stefan was there too and Elena was nowhere to be seen. Saying goodnight to Bonnie, he looked for Elena outside and found her leaning against his car, crying._

 _"Hey, you alright?" He asked. Despite trying to sound comforting, he wasn't all that interested in making her feel better. If he was her choice, why was she out here crying over his brother?_

 _"Yeah. I just didn't expect him to be so hostile. He practically gave us his blessing, why would he be so mad?"_

 _"You were in love with me while dating him. Can't say I blame him for being bothered." He growled while getting into the car._

 _"I guess that's fair." She murmured while getting into the passenger side. Damon's irritation with her disappeared. She hadn't contradicted his claim that she was in love with him. He was her choice, he just had to learn not to be so jealous._

Staring at her now, Damon expected to be overwhelmed with happiness. He should be. After all, all of his dreams were coming true. Elena loved him. Instead, he felt empty. Some part of him still doubted. If she stayed with Stefan after falling out of love with him, would she do the same to Damon someday too?

Pushing the thought from his mind, he slipped into bed with her and drifted off.

The next morning, Elena decided to skip school and wait with Damon for Tommy to arrive. Pacing back and forth, Damon wondered what Tommy could possibly have to say.

"Damon, calm down. Everything is going to be fine." Elena commented. Just then, he heard the front door open.

"You know, if you remodeled this dump with oversized windows, you would get so much more light in here. Of course then you'd have to clean everything. Otherwise everyone could see all the grime." Tommy commented.

"Please. This place is spotless." They both laughed and Tommy pulled Damon in for a bro hug.

"So where is the glorious Ms. Bonnie Bennett?" Tommy asked after he and Damon separated.

"At school. She'll be here this afternoon." Damon responded.

"Why the hell is she at school? Doesn't she understand how much danger she's in?" Tommy snapped.

"That's what I said but she started talking about having a normal life and shit like that. Besides, I have a vampire hunter, a werewolf, and two vampires, including my brother, protecting her. So why don't you tell me exactly how much trouble she's in."

"Sorry. I don't work with people I don't trust." Tommy smirked.

"Come on, Tommy. After everything we've been through together, you still don't trust me?"

"Nope. Not even a little bit."

"You can trust me." Tommy raised his eyebrows and Damon turned to find Elena standing there. "You can trust me." She repeated.

Tommy laughed, loudly. "No offense, but I don't know a damn thing about you. Well, except that you look just like a lying, back-stabbing bitch, which doesn't exactly speak well of your credibility."

Elena looked shocked that Tommy didn't trust her. "Well if you don't trust Damon or me, why are you working with us?" She asked, not bothering to disguise her offended tone.

"I trust Bonnie." Tommy said simply.

"Why? You don't know her either." Elena was starting to sound angry.

"Sorry. Can't tell you that. I'll explain everything to her, when she gets here. Meantime, what do you all do for fun around here?" Tommy asked, rubbing his hands together.

DBDBDB

Bonnie was exhausted. Despite quickly working through her homework last night, she hadn't gotten much sleep. She had been plagued with nightmares. Not the magical kind, but the 'I've seen too many people die and survived too much' kind. Add all the spells she had done yesterday and it was a miracle she hadn't fallen asleep in school. Well, not completely a miracle. She was afraid that if she fell back asleep, she would have more nightmares. They were bad last night. She kept seeing herself kill people, sometimes even people who cared about, all because they were vampires or werewolves. The worst one was when she killed Caroline. After she woke up screaming, she hadn't bothered trying to fall back asleep. Instead, she had gotten ready for school despite having two more hours before her alarm went off. Even having Caroline in her room and Tyler and Stefan on her couches hadn't helped. They'd all woken up and tried to calm her, but every time she blinked, she saw their dead bodies.

Finally, the last bell of the day rung. As relieved as Bonnie was to be done for the day, she knew she still had a long day ahead. She still had to talk to Damon's contact and after that he would probably want to train. Sighing, Bonnie followed Stefan out of their last class and found Caroline and Tyler waiting for her at Tyler's car.

"You ready?" Caroline asked.

"Ready." She sighed before climbing into the back of Tyler's car with Stefan. Caroline slid into the passenger seat and they drove towards the boarding house.

When they entered the boarding house, the four of them found Elena sitting by herself in the living room, reading a book.

"Hey Lena. You okay?" Bonnie asked. No one else seemed very interested in what Elena had to say, not that she could blame them.

"I'm fine. I just figured that Damon and I could spend the day together and then he ditched me here to go get drunk with his friend." She grumbled. Caroline and Stefan exchanged a look and Tyler rolled his eyes. Bonnie ignored them.

"Do you know where he is now?" She asked, not really wanting to comfort Elena when it was her life that was in danger.

"He said they would be back by 3:30." Elena said while glaring at the four of them, doubtless peeved at their lack of sympathy.

"They should be back soon then." Tyler commented.

Just then the front door opened. Everyone turned and saw Damon enter followed by another man. Everyone froze. The stranger was the same height as Damon, had pale skin, blue eyes, and dark hair. They could have been brothers.

"Whoa. Didn't see that coming." Stefan commented.

"Let me guess; Stefan. Tommy Merlyn." Tommy shook Stefan's hand before turning to Bonnie. "You must be Bonnie Bennett. Damon's description does not do you justice." He said before kissing her hand. Bonnie didn't feel the same cold sensation she felt every other time she met a vampire. Instead, she felt a warm, comforting impression.

"Hi." She mumbled, blushing, before Caroline elbowed her. "Right. This is Caroline and Tyler."

"Pleasure. Now if you'll excuse me and this beautiful young woman, we have some things to discuss." Tommy said, looking into Bonnie's eyes and never releasing her hand.

"Right, not gonna happen. If you're talking to her, I'm gonna be there." Damon interjected before Bonnie answered.

"If she wants any of you to know what's happening, she can invite you. Otherwise this conversation is one-on-one." Tommy responded calmly, giving Damon a hard look.

"They can all stay. The coven wants me to kill them so they're part of this too." Bonnie spoke, trying to prevent the coming fight between Tommy and Damon. Tommy still hadn't released her hand and she gripped it tighter, holding him back.

Tommy looked at Bonnie again before nodding. "Well, you all might want to sit down." He said before sitting on the couch, gently directing Bonnie to sit next to him.

"Bonnie, I need you to tell me all the contact you've had with the Aloquoi coven so far."

"Alright, but there's not much to tell. I was practicing magic in the woods and was attacked by two vampires. After defeating them, I passed out and they tried to convince me to join them in a dream. I refused, so they trapped me there. Caroline found me, brought me to her home, and Damon pulled me out." Bonnie summarized.

"Wait a second. I didn't bring you home. I found you on my porch." Caroline cut in.

"Then how did I get to your porch?" Bonnie asked, confused.

"I was afraid of this." Tommy murmured.

"Why?" Bonnie whispered.

"I'll tell you in a minute. First there are some other things you should know." Tommy began his story, speaking to Bonnie the whole time.

"As you know, witches are servants of nature and the natural enemies of vampires. Some also hate werewolves, due to the fact that magic caused their beginnings. However, most witches generally live in peace with other supernaturals, only attacking when provoked. There are, obviously, some who disagree with this way of life. The largest anti-were or vamp coven is the Aloquoi coven, though they are by no means the best known. Since they are almost universally successful in their missions to kill, it is exceptionally difficult to find anyone who can tell you about them. The coven claims to have been started by Morgan le Fey. Whether or not that's actually true will probably never be known for sure. Anyway, they believe that their destiny is to kill all weres and vamps, or, as they like to phrase it, 'rid the world of abominations'.

"That's where you come in, Bonnie. There's an ancient prophecy that the 'beautiful Bennett' will be the one to finish their work. Clearly, they take 'beautiful' to mean Bonnie. They're going to come after you, get you to join them. They'll use every tactic in the book. Fear, coercion, threats, you name it. However, the most dangerous strategy is where they pretend to be your friend. One of them will likely approach you, saying that they agree with you, offer you help and comfort. Ask you to help them escape the coven. Gain your trust. Then the others will kill all of your friends, leaving you with just the person who approached you. They'll suggest that you leave, and then use something similar to Stockholm syndrome to convince you to join the coven after a couple of years. Since they'll be the only person you feel you can trust, you'll agree. That's why it's so worrisome that someone took you to Caroline. It's an indication that emotional manipulation is their strategy. The one who saved you is probably the person that will reach out later." Tommy never removed his eyes from Bonnie.

"That's terrible." Caroline whispered. Everyone else was still adjusting to the new information.

Tommy nodded. "I was planning on trying to warn you in a couple years. I didn't think they would come for you so soon, since they usually like their converts to be more experienced."

"While she did almost kill the original hybrid." Tyler pointed out.

"I really don't think that they know that. They believe destiny or fate will bring them converts, so they generally don't try to protect or watch any promising witches, probably not even you." Tommy explained.

"Wait, if they kill every vampire they meet, how do you know so much about them?" Stefan asked.

"Good point, Brother. How do we know we can trust you?" Damon gave Tommy a hard look. "After all, you don't trust me, and I'm your friend."

"I trust him." Bonnie said. It was only when Stefan had questioned Tommy's trustworthiness, something had occurred to her. _Maybe the reason I felt something so different from most vampires is because he wasn't originally a human. If he was a witch in the Aloquoi coven, that would explain the warm feeling and how he knows so much about them._

"Are you crazy? You just met him!" Damon burst out, marching over towards where she and Tommy were sitting and pulling her away from him. "He's a vampire! What on earth makes you think you can trust him?"

"He's your friend. What makes you think we can't?" Bonnie asked, trying to remain calm as she was sure that if she was right about Tommy, he probably didn't want anyone else to know.

"Because I turned him!" Damon shouted.

"But I thought you were on good terms. You just spent the day together." Bonnie pointed out.

"We're friendly, not trusting. He meant to save my life but it was too late, I died anyway. He gave me vampire blood knowing that I didn't want to risk becoming a vampire. His good motives means we're still friends, but since he betrayed me I don't actually trust him." Tommy explained with a sad look in his eyes.

"I… I'm sorry." Bonnie whispered.

"Doesn't matter much now. What's important is making sure that you're safe." Tommy said, determination reappearing in his eyes.

"But…"

"Bonnie, now isn't the time for a heart-to-heart. We have things to do." Damon interrupted her, earning a glare.

"He's right. Have you ever actually fought any witches or warlocks before?" Tommy asked.

"No. Damon and I practiced some protection spells and charms and I know that I should use nature to attack rather than use magic to attack directly. But besides that, I'm not actually ready." Bonnie explained. She didn't feel prepared, despite all the work she did yesterday.

"That's not nearly enough. I can give you some more pointers and assist with your training. We need to get you in fighting shape as soon as possible." Tommy told her thoughtfully.

"What do you even know about witches? I've worked with more witches than any vampire I know of, so I'll keep training her." Damon commanded.

"Really? So I assume you know how to break wards that are already in place? Or which wards and attacks the Aloquoi coven is most likely to use?" Tommy growled.

"Stop it. Damon, I'm going to train with Tommy." Bonnie interrupted. With what Tommy just said, her earlier suspicions were confirmed. He was definitely a former member of the coven.

"Absolutely not! How do we know he even knows those things?" Damon snarled at her.

"Damon! I am training with him!" Bonnie snapped just as forcefully.

"Right. We're going to have a conversation in the 'stop openly disagreeing with me' room." Damon quickly grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the room.

"Spell the room so that no one else can hear." He demanded as soon as they entered the library.

"Damon, do you trust me?" Bonnie asked. Part of her wanted to shout at him like she usually did, but she just didn't have the energy.

"Nope. You're too stubborn and hard headed. Besides, you never trust me." He replied.

"Damon, after everything I have done for you, just this once, I need you to trust me." She tried to sound both forceful and gentle, but she wasn't sure if she succeeded. "When I was in the dream, you asked me to trust you, and I did. Now I'm asking you the same thing. I know what I'm doing."

He stared at her for a few seconds. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing you need to know. All you need to know is that Tommy can help me protect everyone. Nothing else matters."

"And who's going to protect you?" Damon asked, his tone so quiet and gentle Bonnie almost thought she had imagined it.

"Got my back?" She answered his question with one of her own, careful not to let her tone reveal just how desperate she was for an answer.

"Just this once." Despite his smirk, Bonnie knew he was serious. She wasn't going into this alone.

She smirked back before opening the door. "Witch, you do realize this means that I'm going to train with you, right?"

Bonnie grinned at him. "Wouldn't have it any other way." She turned and walked back to the group, Damon trailing behind her.

"Shall we?" Tommy asked her, offering her his arm.

"Not yet. These witches aren't just coming after me. My friends are in danger too. Is there any way to train them?" She asked Tommy. "Teach them how to fight witches?"

"If they watch us, they'll pick up some stuff. It would be better if they could practice against you, but you need to focus on learning to fight witches." Tommy responded.

"That settles it. Stefan, Tyler and I will watch the three of you train." Caroline directed.

"What about me?" Elena whined from the back. Everyone turned towards her, as if they had forgotten she was there.

"Ask Alaric to start teaching you. Even though witches aren't his specialty, he'll probably be better than nothing." Caroline bossed. Elena didn't look very happy at the thought of being kept away from the main action, but didn't argue. Clearly pleased with herself, Caroline spun and marched out of the house. Everyone else followed behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: As always, thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows. Here's the next chapter.**

 **At this point, Caroline, Bonnie, and Stefan know about Bamon and the girls and Tyler know about T/E.**

Caroline stood next to Tyler and Stefan while they listened to Damon and Tommy argue about what training Bonnie needed. Damon wanted to keep teaching her witch-specific attacks, while Tommy insisted that she go back and learn the basics that she had missed when she first found out she was a witch.

"She can already do more advanced magic! Forcing her to go back will just slow her down! She needs to learn how to defend against witches!" Damon shouted.

"She can use magic but her control and stamina are limited. Teaching her the basics will help with that." Tommy explained calmly, but Caroline could see his irritation mounting.

"Or we could teach her spells that will actually be useful." Damon snidely retorted.

"That's enough. Tommy, Damon's right. I need to learn how to fight against witches." Bonnie intervened.

"Okay. How many types of magic are there?" Tommy turned to Bonnie.

"Four. Elemental, also known as natural, alchemy, mental, and dark."

"Good. Now define them."

"She clearly knows the basics, let's move on." Damon directed.

"Ignore him. Tell me the differences between the types of magic." Tommy instructed Bonnie gently.

"Damon's right. I already know this." Bonnie argued.

"Bonnie, I know it feels that way, but I need you to trust me. Give me a couple more minutes and you'll see."

"Fine. Five minutes, and then we try Damon's way." Bonnie agreed. "Five minutes." She gave Damon a stern look when he opened his mouth to argue.

"That's all I need. Now tell me the differences." Tommy repeated his earlier instructions.

"Natural is controlling the elements and nature. It includes; creating and manipulating elements, helping animals or plants grow, and listening to what plants and animals can tell you, usually through strong impressions or feelings, or on rare occasions, visions. Most of elemental magic doesn't need spells and is done through a witch's connection with nature. It tends to be the least draining magic because its power comes from the elements and nature as well as the witch. Alchemy is creating spells, spoken or silent, charms, and potions. Because spells and potions help control magic, it's the easiest to control. However, the extra control drains the witch faster. Mental magic is mainly prophetic visions, psychic communication, and physical forces, such as pushing, shoving, creating walls, and etcetera. Unlike alchemy, there's no spell involved, so it isn't as draining. However, it still requires more energy than elemental. Finally, there's dark magic; spells or rituals that can only give or take life. I haven't looked into that one quite as much." Bonnie finished with a slight blush. Caroline stared. She hadn't realized magic was quite so complicated. Bonnie made it look so easy most of the time.

"Good. We'll keep it that way." Tommy chuckled softly. "Which type of magic are you most comfortable or familiar with?"

"Mental and alchemy are the ones I use the most but I prefer elemental."

"Good. Besides setting and breaking protection charms, we'll focus almost exclusively on elemental. You'll want to use it to create physical attacks. The other witches will either use mental magic to block those attacks or try to wrestle elemental control over the attack away from you. Both of these methods are more draining than just plain elemental, so you can hopefully tire them out, especially if there aren't that many of them. However, if your control over an element is weak, they will be able to usurp it with very little energy, so we need to focus on your control."

"How do we do that?" Bonnie asked.

"What's your strongest element?"

"Fire."

"We'll start there. Use fire to stop all of them from getting to me and you." Tommy instructed.

A ring of fire instantly sprung from the ground, surrounding the two.

"Everyone else, your goal is to get Bonnie. First one to touch her arm wins." Tommy called from within the circle.

"What's the prize?" Stefan shouted.

"Touching the arm of a beautiful woman isn't enough?" Tommy yelled.

Caroline laughed. She could almost see Bonnie's blush at the compliment.

"You do realize that fire kills vampires, right?" Damon shouted.

"That's the challenge." Tommy responded, the fire never dying down.

"How are we gonna do this?" Caroline asked. She tried not to roll her eyes when Stefan looked to Damon for guidance.

"We can't get through until she loses concentration." Damon declared, as if it explained everything.

"So…" Caroline gestured for him to continue.

"So we make her lose concentration." Damon stated with a look that clearly communicated his impatience with her inability to keep up.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. I meant how do we make her lose concentration. She's in there and we're out here." Caroline pointed out, returning his look of impatience with one of her own.

"Come on, Blondie. Haven't you ever heard of dodge ball?" Damon grinned before picking up a pine cone and throwing it over the flames.

"Hey!" They heard Bonnie yelp from within. "That hit my head."

Damon grinned before picking up another one. Soon, Caroline, Stefan and Tyler joined in. They continued distracting Bonnie, using any tactic they could think of. After another ten minutes, Tommy moved them on to the next element.

Tommy directed all of them in a similar manner for the other elements, and Damon managed to bypass Bonnie's defenses for every element except fire. Stefan also evaded her air attacks, until Caroline suggested a different form of attack.

"Can't you just pull all of the air out of his lungs?" She asked.

Bonnie's face lit up at the idea. "That could work." After she was successful, she asked Tommy if there were other direct body attacks that involved elements.

"Most of them require more power than that one. For instance, since the human body is 60% water, you would think that you could boil it, but that would take a tremendous amount of energy and boiling just blood takes more control than you, or most witches, have. For now, stick to pulling air out of their lungs." Tommy advised.

After a little more practice, Bonnie started to fatigue.

"That's enough for today. We'll keep working tomorrow." Tommy ordered gently.

"No, I can keep going." Bonnie insisted.

"Absolutely not." Caroline jumped in. She knew that Bonnie still hadn't fully recovered from her nightmare last night. After she woke up to hear Bonnie shrieking, she had managed to calm Bonnie and get her back to sleep, but Caroline still figured that Bonnie had to be exhausted.

"Caroline's right. You can't over exert yourself. Strength will come with practice. Give it time." Tommy murmured gently.

"But-"

"Bonnie, you heard Blondie and the new pokemon trainer. You're done." Damon ordered.

Bonnie nodded.

"Okay. Let's go home." Caroline said, deciding to force Bonnie to try to sleep before they worked on homework. She turned and gave Tyler a goodbye kiss. His mother had wanted him home tonight, so it was just her and Stefan on Bonnie duty. "Love you." She whispered.

"Love you too." He smiled back.

When they arrived at Bonnie's house, Bonnie immediately shuffled upstairs for a nap. Her agreement with Caroline's suggestion worried Caroline. Ordinarily, Bonnie would have argued that she had to complete her homework first.

"She'll be alright." Stefan said from beside her.

"But what if she's not?" Caroline whispered.

"Then you'll be there for her and help her until she is."

"How do I do that?" Caroline looked at him.

"You keep doing what you've been doing. Caroline, we're going to keep her safe. She's got four vampires, one vampire hunter, and one hybrid looking out for her, not to mention she's a powerful witch. She'll be safe." Stefan held her shoulders gently.

"You're right, you're right." Caroline paused for a minute. "How are you doing with the Elena situation?"

Stefan shrugged. "I'm not sure. I feel like I should be over her by now since I'm the one who broke up with her, but I still feel something for her."

"Of course you still feel something for her. You loved her and then you built something with her. That doesn't just go away."

"Yeah I loved her, but whatever we built, she ruined." Stefan argued.

Caroline sighed. "Stefan, you put work, time, and effort into this. You put your whole heart into it. It's okay to mourn that loss, even if it's a good thing. And when you're ready, you can find somebody else to build something with. But for right now, you're going to wallow." She declared before marching to Bonnie's freezer to grab ice cream.

"Wallow?" Stefan chuckled skeptically.

"Yes, wallow. We've been so busy with protecting Bonnie, you haven't had a proper chance to mourn the ending of you relationship. So now, we're going to pig out on ice cream and watch chick-flicks and you're going to cry."

Caroline nearly laughed at Stefan's shock. His eyebrows flew up his forehead and his jaw dropped. "Fine, you don't have to cry, but you are wallowing."

Caroline swept into the den where Bonnie kept the big-screen tv without checking to see if Stefan followed her.

"Let's see… What romantic comedies does Bonnie have?" She murmured. "Got it!" She waved a DVD case in the air in triumph.

"Should I be worried?" Stefan asked with a slight smile.

"Relax. It's just 'Friends with Benefits'." Caroline laughed when he groaned.

"Seriously, Care. I'm alright. I'll manage without wallowing."

"Nope. We are watching this. Besides, I have ice cream." Caroline grinned and bounced on the balls of her feet.

Stefan groaned. "Fine. Put it in." He waved his hand at the tv while plopping down on the black leather couch.

Caroline beamed triumphantly before starting the movie.

"You're wallow ice cream options are cookie dough and mint chocolate chip." She held up the two cartons.

"Cookie dough."

Caroline flashed into the kitchen to grab spoons.

"We're going to eat a whole carton each?" Stefan asked when she reappeared without any bowls.

"You really don't know how to wallow, do you?" Caroline commented.

"Won't Bonnie mind if we finish all of her ice cream?" Stefan asked.

"Relax. Her ice cream is still in the freezer. We all keep cartons of each other's favorite ice cream on hand, in case we need to talk." Caroline explained. She still had a carton of the super rare blueberry cheesecake Bonnie loved in her freezer back home.

"What are you doing?" She exclaimed when Stefan tried to switch his ice cream for hers.

"Mint chip is Elena's favorite which means that cookie dough is yours and you should get to eat your favorite." Stefan explained.

"No way. You are the one who's supposed to be depressed, so you get your choice of ice cream. I will suffer through subpar ice cream so that you can have your favorite."

Stefan sighed and shook his head, but Caroline spotted his smile creeping over his face before she returned to watching the movie.

BDBDBD

Friday afternoon, Damon pulled into the school parking lot. His week had been absolute hell. During training, he was forced to watch Tommy and Bonnie flirt, which bothered him more than it should. At night, he and Elena had good sex, not great, which didn't bother him nearly as much as it should. Add to that the fact that Stefan was still avoiding him and he was completely ready for this week to be over. Because of all the hatred and torment he had heaped on Stefan over the years, he thought Stefan finally leaving wouldn't trouble him, but he was wrong. His missing brother weighed heavily on his mind, along with the knowledge that he had no one to blame but himself. Shaking his dark thoughts away, he saw his reason for being at the school.

"Bonnie!" He called. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, a low effort outfit if he ever saw one.

She glanced at him, surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at the boarding house like always." She said, walking towards him with Stefan and Caroline trailing behind.

"Change of plans. You're riding over with me." Damon explained, directing her towards the passenger seat of his car.

"Why?" Stefan asked suspiciously.

"Because I have some things to discuss with the witch which don't concern you or Blondie. Now scat." He waved them off.

"What on earth do you need to talk to Bonnie about that we can't hear?" Caroline asked suspiciously.

"If I told you that, it would defeat the purpose of not letting you hear." Damon explained condescendingly.

"You do realize that she'll tell me as soon as you're done, right?" Caroline snapped.

"Caroline, its fine. I'll ride with Damon and meet you over there." Bonnie murmured. Damon noticed how tired she sounded and turned to inspect her. She looked exhausted, as if she hadn't slept well in days, causing Damon to become angry. He had thought she would be tired, but this was far worse than he expected.

"Bonnie, are you sure?" Caroline asked, concerned.

"Of course she's sure. You heard her. Run along." Damon directed.

Caroline glared at him before turning and stalking off, Stefan walking beside her. Damon turned back to look at Bonnie, finding her already in the car and waiting for him. Without a word, Damon slid in beside her and peeled out of the parking lot.

After a few minutes, Bonnie finally spoke. "Why aren't we going to the boarding house?"

"I lied about that to get Blondie and McBroody off of our backs." Damon stated simply.

"Why?" Bonnie asked, strangely calm about the whole situation.

"Because I don't want them interfering."

"With…"

"You taking a break." Damon said simply.

"What do you mean 'taking a break'?" Bonnie asked, finally starting to sound angry. Damon knew that she really was worn-out if it took that long for her to get angry at him.

"I mean that you are burning yourself out and if you keep going, you aren't going to be able to defeat the psycho witches coming after us." Damon explained, trying to sound irritated. In reality he was worried. Despite her rapid increase in magic use, he still hadn't expected her to become so exhausted so fast.

"Did Tommy approve of this?"

"Yep." Damon snapped, irritated at her implication that he needed Tommy's permission to do anything.

"You're lying, aren't you?" She asked dryly.

"Yep." He grinned.

"So where are we going?" She asked after a couple seconds.

"You'll see."

"Seriously? You basically kidnap me and now you won't even tell me where we're going?" Bonnie complained.

"What's wrong, Bennett, don't you like surprises? Besides, I didn't kidnap you. I just didn't give you all of the information. Think of it like a surprise party." Damon clarified.

"Ugh. Fine." Bonnie complained. "Can you at least tell me what we're doing?"

"Nope, but that reminds me." Damon reached behind his seat and started searching with his right hand while steering with his left. "Here you go." He threw a plastic bag into her lap.

"What is this?" Bonnie gave him a questioning look.

"Why don't you open it and find out?" Damon responded as condescendingly as he could.

Bonnie rolled her eyes before pulling a bikini out of the bag. The top was a dark red, bandeaux style with a large ring in the middle and a thin string to hold it up. The bottom had wide band around the waist and was the same color as the top. She stared at it wide-eyed for a couple seconds before saying "Damon?"

"Yes, Bonnie?" He struggled to keep his smirk from turning into a full blown smile, not entirely sure why he was almost smiling or why he didn't want her to know.

"What is this?"

"Are you really so sheltered that you don't recognize a bikini? Cause I'm not buying it."

"I know what it is, you ass. I meant why are you giving it to me." Bonnie snapped with an eye roll.

"Next time try asking that instead." Damon grinned at her, reveling in her irritation.

"Damon…" She growled in warning.

Just to piss her off, he waited a few seconds before answering. "I doubt you have a swim suit in your backpack and you'll need one where we're going."

"And you thought this looked like my style? How do you even know my size?" She demanded.

"I'm 160 years old, Bonnie, and I've been studying the female form for all that time." Damon waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Gross." Bonnie grumbled.

Damon grinned. "And no, it doesn't look like your style, which is exactly why I picked it. You're taking a break from being Bonnie today. Right now, you're just some average, teenage girl."

Bonnie looked like she was about to argue, but decided to just go along with him. Damon was curious as to why, but since he didn't want to push his luck, he let it go for now.

They were driving down a small, dirt road in the middle of the forest when he pulled over. "We're here. Go ahead and change, then put your shirt, shorts, and shoes back on. We have a bit of a hike."

"You're crazy if you think I'm changing in front of you." Bonnie snapped.

Damon rolled his eyes. "I promise I won't look." He tried to give her his most trustworthy expression, though past experience told him that wouldn't cut it. When she glared, he sighed and got out of the car.

"Fine. I'll be out here, behind that boulder. Just come get me when you're done." Damon kept his promise and didn't look, instead surveying the forest around him. The trees were thick and there was a steep hill right in front of him. His goal was over the hill and then approximately half a mile into the woods.

"Fits perfectly, doesn't it?" Damon asked, before turning around and grinning at Bonnie.

"Why am I going along with this again?" she responded with an eye roll.

"Because you know I'm right." He teased while leading the way up the hill.

"That would be a first."

"True. You rarely acknowledge my rightness." He turned to smirk at her, catching her smile before she turned it into an eye roll.

After a couple minutes, they came across a stream flowing through the forest. Walking alongside, they followed it upstream.

"Is that a waterfall?" Bonnie asked when the sound of water striking rocks became audible.

"Sounds like." Damon answered.

A couple minutes later, the ground dropped off and they were standing on the edge of a cliff, looking over a punchbowl waterfall. The water tumbled down about 30 feet before landing in a deep swimming hole.

"How are we going to get down?" Bonnie asked after taking a few minutes to admire the view.

"Jump." Damon pulled off his shirt and popped his shoes off, leaving just his jeans.

Bonnie, who had been about to retort, froze. Her eyebrows rose and her mouth opened slightly. Without blinking, her eyes traced his impressive physique. Damon grinned and gave her a few seconds to appreciate him before speaking.

"Like what you see, Bennett?"

Bonnie blushed furiously and avoided his gaze. "No."

"Could've fooled me." He grinned wider at her embarrassment.

"Whatever. Is there any other way to get down there?"

Damon decided to ignore the subject change. "Nope. Gotta jump. I can hold your hand if that would ease your fear."

"I'll manage." Bonnie retorted before removing her shirt and shorts.

It was Damon's turn to freeze. The red of the bikini contrasted with her chocolate skin, giving it a beautiful glow in the sunlight. Her stomach was tight, her legs and arms filled out with lean muscle. Her breasts were full and firm, and her ass was round and toned. In short, her body was magnificent, and Damon was having a hard time keeping himself under control.

Bonnie glanced at him after bending to remove her shoes, a motion that triggered a hard on. She froze in shock when she noticed his aroused state, shock and embarrassment clear on her face. After a tense couple seconds, her face cleared.

"Careful Damon. You look like you're about to get a nose bleed." A sexy, taunting smirk brought Damon's eyes to her lips even as her insult penetrated his lustful haze.

"Oh you're gonna pay for that, Bon-bon." He flashed in front of her, grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder, ignoring how the action put her ass on display. While Bonnie shrieked in protest, Damon zoomed towards the cliff. Just before he jumped, he swung her around so he could carry her bridal style, and leapt.

Bonnie clung to him and screamed the entire way down. Upon hitting the water, Damon released her from his grasp. She came up spluttering and Damon burst out laughing. After a couple seconds, Bonnie joined in, her laughter trickling gently through his mind. Damon relaxed into the moment, so much he didn't see her sneak attack coming. A wave of water hit him directly in his face, water flowing into his open mouth. Spluttering, Damon retaliated, dunking her under the water.

They continued to horseplay for a while, both of them losing track of time until the sun started to set and the air around them cooled substantially. When he noticed Bonnie shivering, Damon called a truce and they clambered out of the pool.

"How do we get back up?" Bonnie asked, laughter still dancing in her eyes.

Damon barely heard her, he was so enchanted with her eyes. Throughout the afternoon, she had managed to keep up with him as long as he didn't use his vampire powers. Reluctantly, he had to admit that he was impressed. After a couple seconds of staring, Damon realized she was waiting for an answer.

"There's a path up around here." He said, leading the way. He climbed the path without looking over his shoulder, not wanting to get dragged back into her beautiful eyes.

Once they reached the top, they spread out on some warm rocks and dried off in the last vestiges of daylight.

"I can't believe you didn't think to bring any towels. Isn't that swimming 101?" Bonnie teased.

"Don't be like that, Bon. Drying in the sun is half the fun."

"Of course it is. My hands are all pruny now." Bonnie complained half-heartedly.

"I'm sure you'll survive."

Bonnie chuckled before they lapsed into a companionable silence.

"Damon?" Bonnie asked after a couple minutes.

"Yes, little witch?" He answered gently.

"Why do you need Elena to choose you so badly? Why didn't you ever move on with someone who you didn't have to worry about picking Stefan?"

Damon studied her for a few minutes before answering. After a few seconds of scrutiny, he realized that she wasn't expecting an answer. She simply lay on her back, gazing at the last of the sunset. Her attitude intrigued him enough that he decided not to try to deflect with humor.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I don't. Well, I do, but that's not why I'm asking. I'm just curious if you know." She finally turned and met his gaze, her green eyes filled with curiosity.

"You don't choose who you fall for."

"Maybe not, but you choose who you pursue. You chased her from day one, even before you cared about her. You must have known falling for her was a possibility. You'd be a fool not to even consider it, especially after Katherine. So why risk it?"

"Because I thought it would be worth it."

"And was it?"

Damon paused again. When he started pursuing Elena, he just wanted to hurt Stefan. Then he fell for her, and he just wanted to stop hurting. Now, he finally won and the pain still hadn't stopped. It had just been replaced with a different pain, one that came from doubt in their relationship. On top of the doubt, he felt guilt and pain for finally destroying his relationship with his brother. However, he knew that he couldn't tell Bonnie all of that, so he lied.

"Yes."

"Bull shit." Bonnie blurted immediately.

"What?" He snapped defensively.

"You hesitated. If it had been worth it, you wouldn't have to think about it."

"You a lie detector now?" Damon growled.

"Yep. So what's wrong?"

Damon glowered at her, but she just watched him, waiting for an answer. Rolling over, Damon sighed.

"I thought that when I got her, I'd finally move past all the bullshit Katherine and my father heaped on me."

"What bullshit?"

Damon surprised himself by answering. "They both always preferred Stefan, for some inconceivable reason."

"And eventually you gave up trying to prove them wrong and started trying to prove them right." Bonnie finished.

"So now you know why I'm the bad guy." Damon muttered sarcastically, trying to cover his vulnerability.

"You're pathetic, you know that?"

"Good pep talk, Bon." Damon growled.

"I mean it. You've been running around killing people because your dad was an asshole and your brother's girlfriend preferred him to you. And now you're repeating the exact same situation and blaming everyone else for your stupid decisions. Your actions are your responsibility, Damon. Man up and take it." She declared matter-of-factly.

Damon growled at her, the urge to attack or intimidate her overcoming him. He couldn't defend himself from her words; she'd see right through his crap. However, before he moved, she spoke again.

"Look, I'm sorry your dad told you that you weren't as good as Stefan and I'm sorry that Katherine broke your heart and I'm sorry that Elena makes you feel like you have to turn into Stefan to deserve her, but that doesn't excuse what you've done." All of her usual judgement disappeared and was replaced by understanding.

"You don't have to compare yourself to Stefan. If you want to change yourself, change. But don't do it because of Stefan or Elena. Do it because it's what you want. It won't last any other way." Bonnie stood up and started putting on her clothes, leaving Damon shell-shocked. Bonnie Bennett thought that he could change. The judgmental little witch believed that he could change. He never thought that her believing in him was even a possibility.

"Coming?" She asked, standing in front of him completely clothed.

Damon jumped up and got dressed before marching through the forest. He drove her back to her house where Caroline was already franticly running around. Bonnie thanked him for her break before running up to Caroline. Damon drove home before Caroline or Stefan could try to yell at him, all without saying a word.

As soon as he stalked through the boarding house door, Tommy pinned him against the wall.

"Where the hell were you?" Tommy growled in his face.

"None of your damn business." Damon growled back with just as much venom and pushed Tommy off.

"What were you thinking? The most powerful coven in existence is coming after her and you decide to go on spring break without telling anyone where you were going? She could have been taken!" Tommy shouted, looking at Damon like he wanted to run him through with a stake.

"I can protect her!" Damon shouted back, glaring at Tommy. "Who decided you could be her second father?"

"Damon, she's not ready to face them! She needs more practice!"

"She can't practice if she's passing out from exhaustion!" Damon shouted. "Haven't you seen her? She looks like she has barely slept since this whole thing started!"

Tommy sighed, a look of realization crossing his face.

"She needed a break, and I gave her one." Damon growled before marching upstairs.

BDBDBD

Monday morning, Bonnie slammed her locker door shut, fighting a yawn. Since her nightmares hadn't gone away, she still wasn't sleeping well and it was taking a toll on her. Granted, she was now tired enough that she could generally sleep a few hours every night without waking, but it wasn't nearly enough. Her lack of sleep combined with non-stop magic practice over the weekend was wearing on her. She rubbed her eyes, fighting off another yawn and trudged towards the cafeteria. Luckily it was lunch time and she might be able to catch a power nap before her next class. She just had to be careful. Caroline and Stefan were both close to figuring out that she wasn't sleeping at night. Between spelling her room at night so all they could hear were her heartbeat and breathing and lying about how tired her magic made her, she managed to keep most of their suspicions at bay. However, that was only a temporary solution that was quickly approaching its expiration date.

After grabbing some food, Bonnie sat down next to Caroline and Tyler. Stefan avoided them during lunch, something about how he didn't want to force them to choose between him and Elena. Bonnie would never say, but she wished Elena would avoid them instead. Caroline, however, didn't even try to hold her tongue about her displeasure with the situation. Even Tyler objected, claiming that since Elena caused the breakup, she should be the one to suffer the consequences.

Elena plopped down on the bench next to Bonnie. After mumbling a greeting, Bonnie zoned out of the conversation. Abruptly, Bonnie came back to reality when Jackie strutted up to their table. Jackie was known as the school bitch and if she was talking to them, something was going to go down.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the school whore. You know, I never thought I'd see the day when little miss perfect pulled a brother swap. I have to admit, you had me fooled." Jackie taunted Elena.

"Hey!" Bonnie and Caroline shot up simultaneously. "Don't you dare talk to her like that!" Bonnie growled. "Leave her alone!"

"And if you ever talk to her like that again, I will kick your ass!" Caroline snapped.

"Why? Everything I said is true. You both must be thinking it too." Jackie said with a grin.

Caroline lunged for her, causing Jackie to jump back with a terrified look. Caroline would have doubtless slapped her to kingdom come if Tyler hadn't caught her before she could.

"Woah, easy." He murmured. Caroline kept glaring.

"Keep walking or I'll let her go." Tyler threatened Jackie with a glare. Jackie wisely followed his instruction.

Caroline, Bonnie, and Tyler slowly sat down again.

"Why'd you do that? I know you hate what I did." Elena whispered, tears in her eyes.

"We don't agree with your choices. Doesn't mean she gets to treat you like that." Caroline declared.

"Thanks." Elena whispered.

"I'm going to the library. I'll see you guys later." Bonnie said, ending the conversation before it could go any further. She got up and left before anyone could object.

As she left the cafeteria, she bumped into someone. Luckily, neither of them were carrying anything so there was nothing to pick up. Bonnie glanced at the person, noticing that she hadn't seen the girl before. She was about average height with curly brown hair and green eyes.

"Sorry about that. Are you alright?" The stranger asked.

"Yeah. Fine." Bonnie answered abruptly, wanting to escape.

"You're Bonnie, right?" The girl asked, clearly not picking up on Bonnie's haste.

"That's me." Bonnie said before starting to walk towards the library.

"I thought so. I'm Amy. I'm new." The girl, Amy, said while walking beside Bonnie. Bonnie struggled to keep from rolling her eyes. She really wasn't in the mood and was still hoping to catch a half hour nap before English.

"That was pretty cool back there. What you did, I mean. Standing up for your friend." Amy babbled. "Not very many people would do that."

Bonnie stopped and looked at her. "Yeah, well I did. No offense, Amy, I'm sure you're a great person, but I am really in a rush right now so can we talk later?" Bonnie asked before walking off. Amy didn't answer.

As she expected, she managed to sleep for a peaceful half hour before going to English. The nap helped her feel better and she actually managed to concentrate on English. When she walked into her next class, she spotted Amy sitting at the desk next to hers.

"Hey, sorry about earlier. I was having a long day and I took it out on you. I promise I'm not usually that much of a bitch. Can we start over?" Bonnie apologized.

"I'd love to. I know how rough days can be." Amy said with a bright smile.

"Thanks. I'm Bonnie. Welcome to Mystic Falls." Bonnie returned her grin.

Before Amy could respond, their teacher started class.

After school was over, Bonnie found Amy waiting by her locker.

"Hey." She smiled. Her weariness had returned but she didn't want a repeat of what happened at lunch so she tried to be polite.

"Hey. I don't want to be a burden, but I was wondering if you would mind showing me around town? I haven't had a chance to explore yet."

"She would love too, but she already has plans." Caroline said from behind Bonnie.

Bonnie turned and gave her an irritated look before answering Amy. "Unfortunately, she's right. Sorry."

"How about tomorrow?" Amy asked hopefully.

"No can do. She's busy every afternoon. Sorry." Caroline said in a sickly sweet voice.

Bonnie glared at her again. "Care, can you give us a minute?"

Caroline glared back for a couple seconds before marching a little ways down the hall. Bonnie knew she could still hear everything they said but decided to ignore her.

"Sorry about that, I don't know what's gotten into her." Bonnie apologized to Amy.

"You don't have to apologize for her. Are you really busy every afternoon this week?"

"Yeah and I can't reschedule, but I might be able to find somebody else to show you around." Bonnie offered.

"Thanks, but I would rather just explore on my own." Amy looked disappointed.

"Alright. Well I have to get going. See you tomorrow?" Bonnie liked Amy. She seemed nice and it Bonnie figured it must be hard being the new girl in such a small town, so she decided to try to befriend her.

"Sure." Amy smiled before walking away.

"What is wrong with you? Why were you being so rude to her?" Bonnie snapped at Caroline.

"Because she's a new person who is approaching you for no reason." Caroline growled back.

"So what? You're jealous?"

"What? No! Remember what Tommy said? Somebody's going to approach you and try to befriend you. You really believe that Amy just showed up and talked to you?" Caroline nearly shouted.

"Maybe she just thinks that I'm approachable." Bonnie did shout.

"Bonnie, she's the Aloquoi coven's way of manipulating you." Now Caroline was shouting too.

"No she's not! I would be able to sense her power."

"Unless she has a way to block you!" Caroline yelled.

"Well she doesn't!"

"You don't know that. You have to be more careful!"

"Caroline, all I am is careful. And even if I wasn't, you are. Seriously, I wake up, you're there. I go to school, you're there. I train, you're there. I know you're trying to help, but I don't need a babysitter! I can take care of myself!" Bonnie shouted, all of her frustration and exhaustion finally boiling over.

"Bonnie, I'm just trying to help." Caroline pled.

"Well stop. I am sick and tired of this. I just want it to go away. I want the nightmares to stop. I want you all to be safe. I want to be able to go places by myself." Bonnie broke down weeping. "I just need a break."

Caroline pulled her into a hug. "We'll get through this. We will figure this out, 'kay Bon?" She whispered comfortingly.

Bonnie cried for a few more minutes. "I can't take it anymore."

"Bonnie?"

Bonnie's head shot up. Stefan was standing at the end of the hallway. Quickly pulling out of Caroline's arms, Bonnie wiped her eyes. Stefan shot in front of her.

"Are you alright?" He asked gently, rubbing her upper arms.

"Just tired. I'll be fine." She answered.

"No, you're not. Bonnie, you're about to pass out. What is going on?" Caroline insisted.

"Nothing. Well, besides the people trying to get me to kill you."

"Really? What about the nightmares you just mentioned?" Caroline asked.

"I just occasionally have one. They're nothing." Bonnie denied.

"Clearly." Caroline threw her hands up in the air.

"Bonnie, you have to talk about this. They're not going to go away if you try to hold them in." Stefan reasoned.

"Stefan-" Bonnie started before he interrupted.

"No. Bonnie, you need to let it out. You don't have to tell me, but you should talk about it with someone. Maybe Caroline."

"Fine. I'll talk to someone. But not you, Care. No offense."

"Why not?" Caroline blurted, clearly taking offense.

"Because I'm feeling smothered, Care. I need a break from this." Bonnie nearly broke down again but held it in.

"You mean you need a break from me." Caroline concluded angrily.

"Yes, Caroline! I need a break from you! I'm around you twenty-four seven! I need space! I need my house back! You're all always there!" Bonnie declared.

"Bonnie, we're just trying to protect you." Stefan said calmly.

"I know that, but it doesn't give me my life back." Bonnie whimpered.

"Bon…" Caroline said gently, pulling her back into a hug.

"I'll be alright." Bonnie declared, forcing her tears away. "Sorry to dump all that on you."

"You've been through a lot, Bonnie. It's okay to fall apart." Caroline murmured into her hair.

"You never do." Bonnie argued.

"You're kidding, right?" Caroline laughed.

"No. You've handled everything thrown at you amazingly well. I can't even remember the last time you broke down."

"I just almost had a meltdown last week. Probably would have had one if Stefan hadn't been there." Caroline released Bonnie.

"That makes me feel better." Bonnie gave a relieved laugh.

"Nice to know my pain has a purpose." Caroline teased.

"You know what I mean." Bonnie paused. "Sorry I was such a bitch. I didn't mean what I said."

"I forgive you." Caroline smiled.

"Good. Just so you know, I don't think Amy is part of the coven. She doesn't have any magic."

"Who's Amy?" Stefan asked.

"She's Bonnie's new BFF. Just started school today and is already following Bon around like a lost puppy." Caroline answered snidely.

"It's just a coincidence." Bonnie protested.

"I don't think so. This sounds just like what Tommy said would happen." Stefan argued.

"Or she's just some new girl who needs a friend."

"Bonnie, they could have a spell that covers up her magic." Stefan pointed out.

"Look, this conversation isn't getting us anywhere. If I promise to be careful of her, will that satisfy you?" Bonnie asked tiredly.

"For now." Stefan answered.

"Stefan." Caroline protested.

"Care, she's exhausted. We'll keep an eye on Amy, make sure everything is on good."

"Okay, but I want to do it this afternoon after we drop Bon off at the boarding house." Caroline decided.

"You guys are going to spy on her now? Don't you think that's a little extreme?" Bonnie objected.

"This is part of the compromise, Bon. Take it or leave it." Caroline retorted.

"Fine." Bonnie grumbled. She knew at this point it didn't matter if she agreed or not, Caroline and Stefan were going to do it anyway. "Just don't be rude to her, okay?" she wheedled.

"I promise not to be rude until we have irrefutable proof that she's trying to kill us." Caroline agreed.

 **AN: I feel like this was a weird place to end the chapter but I have hw to do and I wanted to post today. Hope it wasn't to awkward.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows. They help keep me inspired, so I definitely appreciate them.**

 **For this story, assume that werewolves are stronger than humans but not as strong as vampires unless its within a couple days of the full moon.**

 **At this point, Tyler and the girls know about T/E and Stefan, Care and Bon know about D/B.**

Tyler sighed and ran his hands through his hair, pacing. Damon paced a few feet away and Elena, Alaric, and Tommy stood at the edge of the clearing they had been using for training.

"Where are they?" Tyler growled. It was almost half an hour after Caroline, Bonnie and Stefan were supposed to arrive at the boarding house for training.

"That's it. I'm going after them." Damon declared. Before he could run off, Tyler's phone started vibrating.

"Hang on." He pulled it out and read the text. "That was Caroline. They'll explain when they get here, which should be in about five minutes." He summarized the message, sighing with relief.

"See? Told you they were alright." Elena commented.

Tyler glowered at her. "Why are you here again? Can't you train with Ric?"

"No. He doesn't know enough about fighting witches."

"She's right. I gave her some basic weapons training, but we all know that won't do much good against a witch." Alaric pointed out.

Just then, Tyler heard Caroline, Bonnie, and Stefan approaching.

"Bout time you got here." Damon grumbled. "What's with the lollygagging?"

"Lollygagging?" Tommy chuckled.

Damon glared before turning to the tardy three. "You're late."

"Yes, thank you, Sherlock." Caroline retorted.

"We actually have a reason." Stefan interrupted. "There's a new girl at school. She tried to approach Bonnie, but she didn't feel any magic on her. Just in case, Caroline and I are gonna go check her out."

"Probably wise. It could just be a coincidence but I doubt it." Tommy agreed.

Tyler noticed that Caroline shot Bonnie an 'I told you so' look which caused Bonnie to roll her eyes. After giving him a quick peck, Caroline left with Stefan. Tyler would have offered to take his place, but he knew that if they were spotted, Stefan would be better in a fight, so he let it go. Alaric also left, claiming that he needed to grade papers before handing them back tomorrow.

"Great. Let's get started." Tommy directed. "Tyler, you work with Elena today. She needs to catch up as much as possible."

"Why do I have to work with her? She's Damon's girlfriend." Tyler objected.

"True, but you are the closest to her skill level. You're strong and all, but you're hardly superman." Damon smirked.

"Like you are?" Tyler grumbled. However, he knew Damon was right and that it made sense for him to be the one to train Elena, so he waved her over.

"Weapons aren't going to be much good unless you manage a sneak attack, so the main thing you need to focus on is distracting them and draining their powers." Tyler summarized Tommy's teachings. "Use your surroundings. Never hold still, it makes you easier to attack. Dodge and weave. If they do catch you, hold you with magic, keep fighting it. Either you will drain some of their energy or they'll have to actually use a spell instead of imprisoning you with their mind, which will also take energy."

"Wait? What's the difference imprisoning someone with their mind and creating a spell?" Elena looked confused.

"I'm not sure. Some witchy jargon about control and strength tradeoff between different types of magic." Tyler frowned. Everything that Bonnie and Tommy talked about just went in one ear and out the other. However, he did manage to pick up on all of the application, so he didn't think he was doing too badly.

"Alright. How do I practice?"

Tyler frowned for a second. They couldn't work with Bonnie, so that eliminated all the methods Tommy had been using. Suddenly, he grinned.

"We're going to play tag."

"What?" Elena looked at him skeptically. "Tag? Like the game we played as kids?"

"Yep. When I'm it, you'll practice avoidance, stealth, and using your surroundings to help you escape. When I catch you-"

"Don't you mean 'if'?" Elena interrupted.

"Sure." Tyler chuckled. Despite Elena's track and field experience, she could never outrun a werewolf, even without the full moon. "If I catch you, you'll practice distraction techniques."

"What about when I'm it?"

"We're only working on defensive moves, Elena. You're not strong enough to be able to fight an actual witch, so we're focusing on you escaping them."

"No, I can fight." Elena argued.

"Elena, you're human. These witches routinely take out vampires. You aren't going to be able to do much against them, so we're going to focus on keeping you safe." Tyler was starting to get annoyed. He knew she was used to running the show, but her insistence on fighting was naive at best and had the potential to get them all killed if she was captured and they had to rescue her.

"It's not really your decision, is it?" Elena growled.

"I am deciding what training you need and defensive is the most practical." Tyler argued back. "Now, you can either train with me or go off and try to figure it out for yourself."

"Fine, but I'm talking to Damon about him taking over my training." Elena snarled.

"Fine by me." Tyler retorted. "Now, are you done throwing your hissy fit?"

Elena gasped and was about to object when Tyler continued.

"I'm going to count to thirty, then I'm coming for you." He promptly closed his eyes. When Elena began to object, he counted loudly, drowning out her whining.

After he finished, he sauntered into the forest. Thirty seconds wasn't enough for her to get very far and he could still smell her. Silently, he followed her trail. Amazingly, Elena had managed to follow his instructions. Unless a witch had a spell to track her, they probably wouldn't be able to follow her.

After a couple minutes of tracking her, he spotted her. He broke into a jog and started gaining ground until Elena spotted him. Whirling around, she hefted a medium sized rock at his head. Tyler easily dodged and she continued this form of attack while attempting to run away. Despite her best efforts, Elena still couldn't outrun Tyler. He grabbed her wrists and crossed her arms around her waist, trapping her back against his front.

"Alright, you win. You can let me go now." Elena instructed.

Tyler chuckled. "Except that's not the end of the game, remember?"

"Fine." Elena sighed before twisting her right wrist out of his grip and elbowing him in the stomach, knocking the air out of him.

Tyler grunted, but managed to keep his grip on her other arm. Elena tried twisting her wrist, but his hold didn't fail.

"Nice try. The elbow wasn't bad, but you need to work on twisting out of someone's grip. You want to twist into the thumb, not the fingers. Your thumb is weaker, so it will give easier than the rest of the hand." Tyler instructed. "Unfortunately, none of that is likely to help you get out of a spell."

"So what do I do?"

"Same thing as a vampire. If there's something else going on that the witch is paying attention to, be quiet and silently test the spell. Their hold might weaken or break if their concentration is elsewhere. If you're all they're paying attention to, then keep struggling against the spell. Hopefully, they'll weaken enough for you to escape. Otherwise, I guess you'll just have to hold tight and wait for rescue. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" Tyler couldn't resist prodding her.

"What's that supposed to mean? It's not my fault the bad guys always kidnap me and I'm not strong enough to fight vampires off." Elena growled indignantly.

"True. But what is your fault is how you always do stupid things that get you into trouble, just like everyone else always predicts, and then other people have to save you. You pretend that you're this self-sacrificing angel, but really you just need to fulfill your own hero complex. If you were really so self-sacrificing, you wouldn't insist on being in the center of the action where everyone else has to protect you." Tyler knew that he was being harsh, but he really didn't care. The 'save Elena' train was getting old. Sure, sometimes it wasn't her fault, but quite a bit of the time, it was her own need for attention or her belief that she knew better than everyone else that got them into trouble.

"You're supposed to be on my side." Elena shrieked.

"Why? Because we're 'soulmates'?" Tyler laughed bitterly. "That doesn't mean anything. Everything I said is true and I'm not taking it back because your feelings are hurt. You want your friends safe, stop trying to protect them. It's that simple." Tyler turned and started walking back to the house before her voice stopped him.

"I'm just sick of losing everyone." She murmured tearfully.

"Then isn't it ironic that you're the one who's driving everyone away." He scoffed caustically.

"You think I don't know that? That everyone is leaving me because I don't know what I want! That it's my fault that everyone is constantly in danger! The guilt is killing me!" Elena screamed.

"So, what? You cling to the Salvatore brothers at the expense of your relationship with Caroline and Bonnie? And when Stefan finally sees you for what you are, you jump into bed with Damon, the man who has attacked or killed nearly everyone you claim to care about!" Tyler shouted back.

"I'm going to lose Bonnie! And Jeremy! They're going to die here! Caroline never liked me as much as Bonnie! I thought Stefan could be my forever but now he thinks I'm just like Katherine!" Elena screamed. "After my parents died, I knew that eventually I would be left all alone. But Damon won't leave me. That's why I've clung to him so tightly. I'll never have to be alone if he's there with me." She sobbed.

Tyler stared at her. "You're dating Damon because you think everyone else is going to die or leave you? People die, Elena. People leave. That doesn't mean you should stop loving them. It just means that life isn't permanent. Nobody can promise you forever. Not even Damon. And even if he could, that still wouldn't justify you treating everyone else around you like crap."

DBDBDB

Bonnie growled in frustration. Tommy had finally found a way to simulate another witch competing for control over an element. Yesterday, she had managed to control fog with relative success, and today Damon was trying to control the fog simultaneously. Fog was already hard to manipulate due to water's gaseous state's unpredictable nature, but with Damon out maneuvering her, she was at her wits end.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Tommy said after her most recent failed attempt.

"No. I have to keep going." Bonnie insisted.

"Come on, witch. You're not going to beat me. I've been practicing this trick for 160 years." Damon answered. When she glared, he continued with a sigh.

"You can try again tomorrow."

"They're coming for me and I need to be able to defend myself." She snapped.

"Bonnie, Damon's right. You're exhausted and practicing right now won't do you much good." Tommy argued.

"Speaking of which, why are you so tired?" Damon asked.

"No reason. I'm fine."

"Bon-bon…" Damon warned.

"Alright." Bonnie sighed and then looked at Tommy. After a couple seconds, he caught on and walked back to the boarding house, giving them some privacy.

"Anytime now." Damon hinted when Bonnie remained silent.

"I've been having nightmares. Bad ones. Every time I fall asleep. I only get a couple hours of peaceful sleep. After that, they start up. I tried every spell and calming technique I could find, even sleeping pills. Nothing helps." Bonnie said all of this without actually looking at him. Instead, she focused on her hands or the stared right over his shoulder.

"What are they about?" Damon asked with uncharacteristic gentleness.

Bonnie finally glanced at him, only to have her gaze captured by his.

"You remember everything I told you about the spelled nightmares?" when he nodded she continued. "They're just like that, only this time, I'm the one killing people."

Damon waited silently.

"There was one, this little boy, a werewolf. He ran out in front of a car and they swerved to avoid him. They hit a lamp post and the driver died, triggering his curse. I set him on fire." Bonnie was trying and failing to control her sobbing. "He was ten. He made a mistake, and they killed him for it. I killed him for it."

She started weeping and fell to her knees. She barely felt Damon catch her before she hit the ground and he gently lowered her the rest of the way, holding her tightly to his chest. One of his hands lightly stroked her hair while the other rubbed her arms and he murmured comfortingly in her ear.

"It's not your fault. You didn't do that. They did. It's not your fault."

His reassurances just made Bonnie cry harder. "I keep killing all of you, too. Every night, I see myself setting you on fire, ripping out your heart, or destroying your daylight rings. I can't stop it." She could barely even understand herself she was crying so hard, but it didn't seem to matter to Damon. He kept holding her, comforting her until she had no more tears to cry.

"You won't ever do any of that, Bonnie." He told her after she finished crying, pulling back to look her directly in the eye. "You are the strongest, most moral person I have ever met. You're to judgey and strong to ever kill any of us, much less an innocent child." He stated gently.

"That's just it. I don't want to have to be strong anymore. All of my life, it's been 'Bonnie's the strong one. Bonnie will be alright.' But I don't feel strong." Bonnie whispered, searching his eyes for any sign that he would mock her weakness. All she found was comfort and tenderness.

"You are, and you'll have to be even stronger. You won't survive this without fighting, but you don't have to be strong alone. I've got your back, remember?" Damon murmured gently, his hand softly cupping her cheek.

"You will make it through this and we are going to kick some serious crazy witch ass, alright little bird?"

Bonnie couldn't help but smile. She nodded, not trusting her voice quite yet.

"Good. Now, you are going to take a nap." Damon declared, jumping to his feet and offering her his hand.

"Didn't you hear me? I can't sleep." Bonnie protested while taking his hand.

"Vampire, remember? I can control dreams." Damon smirked proudly.

"Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Bonnie muttered. Surrounded by vampires who could help and she didn't even think of asking.

"Because you're an idiot." Damon chuckled.

"Hey!"

"Kidding. You're just too tired to think straight. Although, it could also be a sign of your complete inability to rely on anyone else. You should learn to ask for help." Damon said, the lightness of his tone belying the serious nature of his words.

"I just asked you!" Bonnie objected despite knowing that he was right.

"Bonnie, you don't trust anyone. Everyone you should've been able to trust left you. I get it, but I am not leaving you. So you can stop waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am not walking away." Despite starting out calm, by the time he reached the end of his tirade, he was worked up and nearly shaking her to get his point across.

"Damon…" Bonnie whispered, ready to cry again. She hated that he could read her so well.

"Bonnie, listen to me. I know what it's like to be abandoned, alone, unloved. I reacted by lashing out, trying to get revenge on those that hurt me. But you didn't. All that pain, and misery and loneliness, and it only made you kind. You're trying so hard to be worthy of everyone's love, to not be a burden, that you don't even see just how much you deserve. Asking for help doesn't make you a burden. Needing other people doesn't make you less deserving of their love. You deserve the world, and anyone who doesn't try to give it to you isn't worth your time." Damon held her face gently in his hands, as if their mere presence could convey his message.

"Why?" Bonnie whispered, wondering why Damon would ever try to comfort her.

"Because I've seen everything you've given for everyone else, so much that you held nothing back for yourself. I didn't always care, but I do now." He answered.

Bonnie nodded. For whatever reason, Damon had finally seen past her walls and found her, and instead of running away like everyone else seemed to do, he pulled her closer. He protected her. Damon Salvatore, of all people, told her that she deserved the world. Bonnie almost laughed at the irony.

"Can we be done with the touchy-feely crap now? I'm beginning to feel like Stefan." Damon joked.

Bonnie laughed. "We should probably get to bed." She assented.

"Bon-bon, are you trying to seduce me?"

"You know what I mean." She muttered.

Damon laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the house.

"This isn't your room, right? I'm not going to catch anything on those sheets?" Bonnie asked upon entering a bedroom.

"I do wash them. I'm not a total pig, you know." Damon retorted.

"Doesn't matter. I am not getting into your bed."

"Relax. This is a guest bedroom." Damon rolled his eyes as Bonnie climbed onto the mattress and beneath the sheets.

"Now what?" She asked after she got comfortable.

"You have to hold my hand. I need a physical connection to enter your mind. Once you fall asleep, I'll give you a dream." Damon explained. He still hadn't lost his gently tone.

"Alright." Bonnie closed her eyes. "Damon?" she whispered after a few seconds.

"Yes little bird?"

"Don't leave." She pled.

"I won't."

Bonnie fell completely asleep a few seconds later. Opening her eyes, she found herself in the middle of a clearing. On the opposite side, Damon strolled casually towards her leading two horses, one black and the other white. Both were saddled and ready to ride.

"You ever ridden before?" he called.

"No. Not very many places offer horseback riding around here."

"Well then I'll teach you."

After they rode, he took her to the park and they had a picnic and played on the swings and blew bubbles. Bonnie felt all of the weight of the past couple years slipping away. And true to his word, Damon didn't leave her until she awoke the next morning in the boarding house.

DBDBDB

A week later, Bonnie's nightmares were practically gone, provided someone controlled her dreams. With adequate sleep, her training was progressing significantly faster. She could now easily block all of the vampires with every element and control fog even with Damon's interference.

"She's doing better." Tommy commented, joining Damon as he watched Bonnie and Tyler walk to Tyler's car after a training session. Blondie and Stefan were still spying on the new girl, Andy or something.

Damon grunted.

"Caroline and Stefan controlling her dreams seems to have taken care of the worst." Tommy continued.

"Is there a point to this conversation?" Damon growled.

"Just wondering why you aren't helping with that. You were so eager to the first night and you are the one who first noticed that she wasn't sleeping. Seems strange that you aren't more involved." Tommy commented.

Damon rolled his eyes before heading back to the boarding house. He didn't want to discuss his reasons for not helping Bonnie dream. As much as he didn't want to admit it, that night changed things. When she had said that she didn't want to be strong, he had seen her. With sudden, startling clarity, as if someone had flipped a light in a dark room, he had seen Bonnie Bennett. Not the witch, not the judgmental best friend, not the, either by his design or pure happenstance, distraction, but her. The girl who everyone relied upon, who felt all alone even surrounded by friends. The girl who tried to be useful or necessary so that people wouldn't leave her. The girl who craved unconditional love so much that she wouldn't even recognize it. The girl who walked into the line of fire without flinching. The girl who was brave so that others didn't have to be. The girl who always made sure everyone else knew that they were loved. And now, she was all that he could see.

He didn't want to see or understand Bonnie. For so long, she had just been the occasionally useful and always annoying witch. Sure, he had cared about her, but now it was different. She mattered to him, deeply.

Shaking his thoughts away, he turned to find Tommy staring at him.

"They still haven't attacked. That's not a good sign. Usually they move faster." Tommy pointed out.

"They sent Ally or whatever her name is." Damon snapped before sipping his scotch.

"But that's just it. She hasn't tried to approach Bonnie again. Caroline and Stefan said that she's actually adjusting to life here. They're beginning to suspect that she's not a plant."

"Well if Blondie and my brother think that it must be true." Damon muttered sarcastically.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "If she's not their tactic, then they should've tried something else by now. They don't like waiting."

"How do you know so much about them, anyway?" Damon asked. After a couple weeks of watching Tommy teach Bonnie, he noticed that Tommy knew far too much about the coven, especially considering that no one else seemed to know a damn thing.

"I've been researching them ever since you turned me. I like to know who's trying to kill me." Tommy smirked.

"And yet no one else knows about them. Strange, don't you think?" Damon was getting angry. He knew that Tommy was lying to him, he just didn't know why.

"Well, in addition to my striking good looks and incredible charm, I also happen to be a genius."

Damon growled before grabbing Tommy's throat and throwing him against the wall.

"I don't believe you." He growled menacingly.

Surprisingly, Tommy didn't fight back, he just stared at Damon.

"You got a better explanation?" He smirked at Damon, issuing a challenge.

"You used to be part of their coven."

"How do you figure that?" Tommy chuckled darkly.

"You were a witch, or warlock, or whatever. Now, you're the only person who knows anything about them? It's pretty obvious." Damon growled.

"If it's so obvious, why didn't you figure it out sooner?"

Before Tommy could blink, Damon grabbed his head and twisted, snapping his neck.

"Damn it, Tommy. You were supposed to deny it." He sighed before picking up Tommy's lifeless body and carrying him down to the basement. After tying him to a chair, Damon sat back and waited.

When Tommy gasped back to life, Damon grabbed the vervain water.

"You're going to start talking, now." He growled before Tommy had a chance to find his bearings.

"You don't need the vervain. I'll answer all of your questions." Tommy gasped, still a little short on oxygen.

"But how will I know you're telling the truth?" Damon grinned sadistically so that Tommy knew that he was serious. However, despite all the bravado, Damon didn't want to torture Tommy. He was one of only a handful of people Damon could call friends, and to lose him would hurt.

"I only lied earlier because I knew you would react like this. Now there's no reason for lying." Tommy explained, groaning.

"Unless you're lying now."

"Ask me your damn questions. If my answers don't make sense, you can start torturing me."

"Fine, but if you say anything that I don't like, I'm throwing this on you." Damon agreed, surprising himself.

"Why is the Aloquoi coven after Bonnie?" Damon started the interrogation.

"I already told you. Powerful witch, leads them to victory, prophecy… any of that ringing a bell?" Tommy groaned.

"Why do you care so much about her?"

"What's wrong, worried that she likes me better?" Tommy taunted.

Damon threw about a cup of vervain water in his face.

"Answer the damn question." He ordered as Tommy's screams filled the air.

"Damon? What the hell are you doing?" Elena shrieked, bolting down the stairs towards them.

"Nothing. Go back upstairs." Damon answered without taking his eyes off of Tommy.

"No! You can't torture him!" Elena shouted. "He's helping Bonnie! Do you really not care about her at all?"

"I don't care about her?" Damon spun to face Elena. "All I have done since we found out about this is protect her! What have you been doing? Oh, that's right. You've been worrying about why everyone isn't paying attention to you!" He shouted right back at her.

"That's-that's not true!" Elena stuttered with tears in her eyes. "I'm worried about her. She's my best friend."

"Get out! I am protecting Bonnie, and you will not interfere with that!" Damon growled menacingly, getting into her face.

Elena burst into tears and ran out.

"Where were we?" Damon turned back to Tommy. "Why do you care so much about Bonnie?"

"Because she's one hell of a woman." Tommy taunted again. When Damon picked up another cup of vervain, he quickly continued. "I'm the one who made the prophecy. The one that said she would finish their mission." Tommy continued when Damon gave him a confused look.

"That's impossible. You said it was ancient." Damon argued.

"Yeah, I lied. She's in danger because of me." Tommy shouted, his guilty conscious clear in his eyes.

"You son of a bitch." Damon shouted. "You put Bonnie in danger? This whole mess is your fault? She's having nightmares, terrified out of her mind, because of you?"

"I'm trying to fix it! I want her to be safe! I don't want her to have to live like I did!"

"What does that even mean?" Damon asked, trying to control his anger. He couldn't believe that it was Tommy's fault that Bonnie was in danger again. Part of him wanted to kill Tommy for it, but the other part still clung to his friend.

"It means that I don't want her to have to kill people. I was born into the coven. From my first step I was trained to kill vampires and werewolves, but I couldn't stomach it. I ran away after my first kill. It was some vampire preying on people, not a particularly nasty one but not one of the good guys either. When I saw his dead body lying on the ground, I couldn't take it. I ran. But it was too late. I had already made the prophecy." Tommy hung his head.

Damon glared at him, trying to decide if he could believe Tommy. Tommy wasn't stupid enough to lie about endangering Bonnie, but that didn't mean the rest of his story was true. "I don't trust you. You could still be working for them."

"Then go ahead and kill me. I never wanted to be a vampire anyway. If it weren't for trying to save Bonnie, I would have killed myself a long time ago." Tommy shouted, nearly crying.

Damon fled the basement. Despite his anger, he didn't want to kill Tommy, and he knew that if Tommy kept talking, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

Growling, Damon threw his fist through the wall, leaving a gaping hole.

"Damon?" Elena whispered, her voice terrified.

"What?" he barked.

"Did you kill him?" she whispered, her tear-stained face filled with concern.

"You can relax. He's still alive." Damon snarled. "He put Bonnie in danger. I would've thought you would be more protective."

"Damon, of course I'm protective. She's my best friend, but that doesn't mean that we should kill him when he hasn't done anything." Elena tried to reason gently.

"You don't know anything about what he's done. For all you know, he's the plant the coven sent for her. Wouldn't you want me to kill him then? Or at least interrogate him?"

"Is he?" Elena snapped.

"I don't know, but it's definitely a possibility. Of course, this means that everything we know about them comes from a tainted source." Damon paused. "Fuck. I need to talk to Bonnie." He grunted before grabbing his jacket and running out the door, leaving Elena all alone in the living room.

"Come on, I know you're in there. Open up." He shouted when Bonnie and company didn't immediately open the door after he banged on it.

"Damon?" Bonnie asked curiously upon opening the door.

"We have to talk." He explained.

"Alright. Do you want to come in?"

Damon stared at her. He felt surprised and honored that Bonnie trusted him enough to invite him into her home. "Actually, we should talk outside. Don't want your bodyguards overhearing." He said after the shock faded.

Bonnie nodded and followed him outside and a ways into the yard. He watched her do a silencing spell before beginning.

"Tommy used to be part of the Aloquoi coven." He said without preamble.

"I know." Bonnie stated calmly. However, there was apprehension in her eyes.

"You knew? And you still wanted to train with him?" Damon ground out, trying to keep his cool.

"Actually that's why I wanted to train with him. Know thy enemy and all that. I figured he could tell me more about them than anyone else."

"How did you know he wasn't lying?" Damon shouted.

"I don't know, Damon. I just had a feeling, like he would protect me." Bonnie murmured tiredly.

"A feeling? You risked your life based off of a feeling?" Damon asked with an incredulous tone. However, he couldn't really say he was that surprised. Despite her intelligence, Bonnie tended to trust people a little too easily if she felt a connection with them, which she obviously did with Tommy.

"A witchy feeling. He's not working for them, if that's what you're worried about."

"How could you possibly know that? Do you even understand how much danger you're in?" Damon shouted, crowding her space to intimidate her. Like always, she didn't back down.

"Of course I know how much danger I'm in. They've already come after me, remember? I think all of my nightmares prove that I understand the situation." Bonnie shouted right back. "You said you would trust me, so trust me." She finished forcefully.

"That was before I knew that he used to work with them." Damon ranted.

"And now he works with us. Everything he's taught us has made sense. I'm stronger because of him. We can't finish this without him."

Damon stared at her for a few seconds. He wondered if she would defend him so passionately before shaking the thought away. "Alright. I won't kill him."

"Good. Wait, how did you figure it out?"

"He knew too much about the coven. When I confronted him, he admitted it." Damon shrugged.

Bonnie sighed. "Please tell me you didn't torture him and lock him in your dungeon."

"It's technically a basement."

"Damon! Let him out!" Bonnie shrieked.

"Can't I just leave him there for the night?" Damon couldn't help but tease. He wanted to get her all riled up and he knew this was the easiest way to do that.

"No!"

"Fine. But you can't ever invite him into your house, and I'm staying with you. We're not taking any chances."

"Right, because we were being so careless before." Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Just get back inside the house and don't leave until I get back."

"Damon, I can't have another person staying in my house indefinitely. It's already cramped enough."

"With Barbie, my brother, and Teen Wolf? Your house isn't that small, Bon-bons."

"It is when you're used to living all alone."

Damon sighed. "So we kick everyone else out. You and me, roomies. It'll be fun." He actually worked up some excitement at his idea.

"Damon, they'll never be alright with that, and Caroline will kick your ass if she ever finds out you even suggested it." Bonnie argued.

"So? I can take Blondie."

"Damon, it's not gonna happen."

Damon glared at her and she glared right back. She wasn't going to back down.

"Just for tonight." Damon wheedled.

"Alright. I want to try to sleep without anyone controlling my dreams tonight anyway. We can just tell everyone that you're helping me tonight and you can wake me up if I have any nightmares." Bonnie agreed.

"Great. Let's go." Damon grinned.

"Not so fast. You still have to go release Tommy."

Damon sighed. He had hoped that she would forget about that. "I'll be back in ten minutes. Don't do anything stupid."

Bonnie laughed. "You either."

Damon beamed before sprinting off to obey Bonnie's orders.

When he returned to Bonnie's house, Caroline opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" She growled in annoyance.

"Bonnie invited me. Says she wants me to be the one in charge of her dreams tonight." Damon smirked, proud of the fact that Bonnie trusted him.

"Please. Bonnie would never ask for you to get in her head." Caroline retorted.

"Well why don't you go ask her. Or, better yet…" with his final words, Damon stepped into the house, easily crossing the now non-existent barrier.

Caroline froze in shock.

Damon's attempt at rubbing his invitation in her faze died on his lips as he sensed Bonnie approaching. She appeared at the end of the hallway wearing flannel, tweety bird pajama pants and a black tank top. Her luscious hair flowed over her shoulders in loose waves and he could smell her pomegranate body wash. With her face washed free of makeup and her feet bare, she looked the picture of innocence, an innocence which Damon felt a strong urge to protect.

"Hey Damon." She smiled softly.

"Hey." He murmured back, still entranced by her.

"Bonnie, did you seriously invite him over to help you with your dreams tonight?" Caroline interrupted their moment, earning Damon's ire.

"Yes, Caroline. You've been helping me all week and you deserve a night to yourself." Bonnie explained.

"I don't mind and even if I did, you could have asked Stefan." Caroline objected. Damon growled at the thought of his brother giving Bonnie dreams, causing Bonnie to glance at him curiously before returning her attention to Caroline.

"I'd feel weird with Stefan in my head."

"But you're totally comfortable with Damon?" Caroline responded.

Instead of speaking, Bonnie looked at Caroline. Damon's eyes bounced back and forth between the two girls, trying to discern their silent conversation. He had a strange feeling in his stomach, the same one he always got when Bonnie didn't tell him everything. However, right as he was about to intervene, Caroline spoke aloud.

"Fine. But we are talking tomorrow as soon as he leaves." She said before flouncing into another room where Damon could hear Tyler moving around.

Bonnie winced at Caroline's tone and departure.

"So are we going to do this or what?" Damon asked, trying to distract her from whatever just happened.

"Come on." She started up the stairs, Damon following closely behind. "Just so you know, if you make any comments about being invited into my room, I'll set you on fire."

Damon chuckled, amused by how well she knew him. "How about comments on how girly it is?" He retorted.

"You won't be able to stop yourself, will you?"

"I can't even promise that I won't make any of the other comments, although I will try."

"Why?" Bonnie asked, turning to face him as she entered her room.

"Because a pissed off witch is a dangerous witch." Damon shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. The truth was that while a pissed off Bonnie was extremely sexy and entertaining, the peaceful and relaxed Bonnie he saw before him was a rare treat, one he intended on savoring.

"That's never stopped you in the past." Bonnie pointed out.

"Touché, but you should be as calm as possible to avoid nightmares." Damon gave her an explanation he thought she might accept without much scrutiny.

Luckily, she did and a few minutes later she climbed into bed while he reclined on the butterfly chair next to her bed. After she fell asleep, Damon listened to her heartbeat intently, trying to detect any sudden changes. However, it remained within the normal parameters of sleep. Within a couple of hours, Damon himself drifted off to the lullaby of her steady heartbeat.

 **PS. Sorry about the lack of Steroline. I promise to include some in the next chapter.**

 **PPS. Damon's line about "it only made you kind" is word for word from Doctor who. All credit goes to original author.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: As always, thank you for the reviews. For the people who want Damon to find out about him and Bonnie, its coming, I swear. I'm waiting for something very specific to happen first, so just hang tight.**

 **Also, this is an Elena-heavy chapter. I apologize, but I think the reward at the end is worth it. Hope you all enjoy.**

After Damon left, Bonnie got ready for school. She had one small nightmare last night, but she woke up quickly. She hadn't even woken up Damon it was over so fast. She didn't think they would all disappear right away, so she figured just one wasn't so bad. Remembering that Caroline was down stairs, she rushed to get ready. She figured that Caroline wouldn't try to talk if she was busy, so she made sure to spend extra time on her hair and makeup. However, her ploy didn't work as Caroline barged into her room after about five minutes.

"Talk. Now." Caroline ordered, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her heel impatiently.

"I don't know when or how it happened, but I trust him. He's been so protective, always making sure that I'm alright. Even when we're fighting, he's still been checking on me. When he's around, I feel safe." Bonnie tried to explain.

"Okay." Caroline nodded.

"That's it? Okay? You're not mad?" Bonnie couldn't help but ask. She knew that she should have told Caroline the moment she realized she trusted Damon, like she promised.

"He protects you and makes you feel safe, Bon. Not many people have done that for you. So, no. I'm not mad. Doesn't mean I like it, but I'm not mad at you."

Bonnie threw her arms around Caroline. "Thanks Carebear."

"Anytime. What are you two, anyway?" Caroline asked, pulling out of the hug.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, are you still enemies or frenemies or friends?"

"We're… Friends. I think."

Caroline nodded. "Just be careful, Bons. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Is that you guys' new motto? 'Be careful'?" Bonnie couldn't help asking.

Caroline laughed. "We're just used to protecting somebody who isn't."

"Hey!" Bonnie objected.

"I meant Elena. Seriously, the girl didn't understand the meaning of careful." Caroline shook her head, giggling slightly.

Bonnie giggled back before sobering. "I promise I'll be careful. I don't want you guys to have to worry about me anymore than you already are."

"Good. I don't want you getting hurt. Now, let's get ready for school. Your hairs only half straightened and it looks ridiculous."

"You look ridiculous." Bonnie joked under her breath.

"What was that?" Caroline asked sternly, but with a gleam in her eye.

"Nothing." Bonnie said quickly before darting into the bathroom.

"That's what I thought." Caroline frowned before dissolving into laughter.

Bonnie followed suit and soon both were doubled over, catching their breath.

"Now we really have to hurry if you don't want to go to school looking like that." Caroline said while grabbing the straightener.

Bonnie stood still, waiting for Caroline to finish. "Thanks."

"No problem. Come on. Stefan probably has breakfast ready by now."

"Tyler didn't help, did he?" Bonnie asked apprehensively.

Caroline laughed. "Would I be telling you to hurry if he had?"

"Good point." Bonnie laughed and followed Caroline down stairs. Sure enough, Stefan was just putting the finishing touches on four plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. Tyler sat at the table sipping orange juice.

"Morning, Bonnie. How'd you sleep last night?" Stefan asked while putting a plate in front of her.

Bonnie knew he was really asking if Damon behaved last night and answered accordingly. "Good. Damon was a gentleman, believe it or not."

Stefan raised an eyebrow but didn't comment before sitting down, having passed everyone else their breakfast.

"So are you guys still following Amy around?" Bonnie asked before taking a bite of her eggs.

"Yeah, but I think we should have Damon trail her today so that we can practice with you and Tommy. Stefan, this is amazing. You are on cooking duty from now until forever." Caroline practically moaned, causing Stefan to chuckle.

"My cooking does beat all of yours." He agreed. "And that's not a bad idea, sending Damon instead. We really could use some practice." He told Bonnie.

"Yeah, Damon's not gonna go for that." Bonnie answered, trying to avoid all of their eyes by looking at her plate. "He found out that Tommy used to be part of the Aloquoi coven before he was turned so he's not going to let him out of his sight."

"What? Tommy used to be a genocidal witch?" Caroline shrieked.

"Relax, Care. We can trust him. His instructions have definitely helped my magic progress and he hasn't been reporting back to them."

"I agree with Bonnie. Tommy isn't stupid enough to help a group that wants to eradicate his kind." Tyler pointed out.

"Unless he feels like their cause is right. Maybe he's only remained a vampire instead of killing himself because he agrees with their goals and he figures he can help them as a vampire." Stefan argued.

"You guys are going to spy on him no matter what I say, aren't you?" Bonnie asked in defeat.

"Actually, Damon probably has it covered." Stefan mused.

"True. That way you guys can keep watching Amy. I mean, you've gotten so much info already, I'm sorry I ever disagreed with you." Bonnie teased.

"Whatever. You guys ready to head out?" Caroline asked.

Everyone grabbed their stuff and climbed into Stefan's car. When they reached the school, Caroline and Tyler split off to study for their chemistry test. Bonnie and Stefan started walking to their English class when Elena came charging up.

"We need to talk. Now." Elena insisted.

Bonnie nodded. "I'll talk to you later, Stefan."

"You sure?" Stefan asked.

Bonnie nodded despite her misgivings. Lately, Elena hadn't been a huge part of her life, largely due to her training with Tommy and Damon and Elena training with Tyler, so Elena's sudden interest in talking made Bonnie apprehensive. However, she still considered Elena a friend so she decided to talk to her.

"What's up?" Bonnie asked.

"Why did Damon stay at your house last night?" Elena asked in a low tone, clearly trying to hide her worry and anger but failing miserably.

"Because I needed his help." Bonnie replied.

"Are you serious? You already have Stefan, Caroline and Tyler over. Why do you need my boyfriend too?" Elena asked, emotions bleeding through.

"Because he understands what I need. Besides, why do you care so much? He stayed over one night when I was in danger. It's not that big a deal." Bonnie argued.

"My boyfriend staying at my best friend's house isn't a big problem? Are you joking?" Elena snapped.

"Are you seriously implying that Damon and I are cheating on you?" Bonnie asked, shocked at Elena's accusations.

"He's been spending a lot of time with you and been worried about you. I have every right to feel jealous."

"He's been help" Bonnie stopped and shook her head. "You know what? I don't need to apologize or defend myself. I don't owe you an apology for Damon helping me when I'm in danger. I'm sorry that I flirted with Damon, but that's it. I am not going to apologize for Damon helping me when you were too busy worrying about which brother you belonged with to give a damn about me."

Bonnie spun and walked away, leaving a fuming Elena in her wake.

"You're flirting with Damon?" Elena shrieked after her.

Bonnie forced herself to keep walking. Her natural instinct was to turn around and try to fix her relationship with Elena, but Damon's words kept ringing in her head _'Anyone who doesn't try to give you the world isn't worth your time.'_

DBDBDB

When lunch rolled around, Elena was still fuming at Bonnie. Slamming her tray on the table, she flopped into her seat across from Tyler and Caroline.

"Wow. What climbed up your ass?" Tyler asked, eyes twinkling.

Elena rolled her eyes at him. With all of the training they had been doing, they were growing closer and he delighted in teasing her about what he called her "drama queen tendencies" on a good day and her "rampant self-absorption" on a bad one.

"Nothing." She muttered, not wanting to prove his accusations right.

"Really? The crack in the table might disagree." Tyler baited her.

Elena glared at him before turning to Caroline. "How's your day going?"

"Fine. Can we talk before class?" Caroline asked.

"Sure." Elena agreed. "How's stalking Amy going?"

"We aren't stalking her. We're… spying. Yeah. Spying, or keeping an eye on her." Caroline defended.

"Okay… how is 'spying' going?" Elena asked.

"Still haven't found anything, but I'm hopeful."

"Wait, you're hopeful that she'll be evil?" Tyler laughed.

"No, I just don't want to have to worry about anyone else coming for Bonnie. Where is she anyway?" Caroline asked, scanning the lunchroom.

Elena shrugged. She knew that if Caroline found out that she and Bonnie had fought, Caroline would rush off to find Bonnie and take her side.

"Maybe she's hanging out with Stefan. He did want to train with her some more." Tyler suggested.

"Do you think we should go find her?" Caroline asked.

"No." Elena practically shouted. "I mean, didn't you say that you wanted to talk?" She quickly corrected before shoving the last of her food in her mouth and standing up.

Both Caroline and Tyler gave her strange looks, but Caroline nodded and stood up.

"I'll talk to you later." She told Tyler before giving him a quick kiss.

"So what's up?" Elena asked, walking out of the cafeteria.

"I'm not entirely sure how to say this so I'm just going to say it. You need to stop treating me like I'm just your Salvatore backup. If we're going to remain friends, you need to start treating me like a friend instead of just hanging out when Damon's busy and only worrying about me when Stefan reminds you that you should." Caroline declared.

Elena felt her defenses rising. "That's not true."

"Yes it is. You've been treating everyone who isn't a Salvatore like they don't matter for months now. If it doesn't stop, I don't want to be around you. I think I deserve better than that."

Elena felt her anger rising but forced herself to take a deep breath. "You're right. I've been consumed with Stefan and Damon and ignoring everything else and everyone else in my life and it's got to stop. I am going to be a better friend to you, starting right now."

Caroline stared.

"What?" Elena asked, feeling self-conscious.

"Nothing." Caroline shook her head. "I just didn't think you would come around so fast."

"Well I've been talking to some people and doing some thinking and I came to the same conclusion as you." Elena paused. "Am I really so self-absorbed that you didn't think I would listen to you?"

"Well…" Caroline said with an almost but not quite apologetic expression.

"Wow. I really need to work on that." Elena sighed, hating just how much she let her own problems consume her.

"Maybe just a bit." Caroline laughed. "I'll help you, if you want. But I meant what I said. If you half-ass this, I'm not going to stick around."

Elena's self-righteousness reared its head before she quashed it. _My emotions really are getting out of whack._

"Fair enough." She agreed to Caroline's terms.

"Good. Now I got to go find Bonnie before class starts. I'll see you later." Caroline smiled before running off.

Elena had to admit that it felt good that Caroline smiled and had a civil conversation with her. However, she still felt self-righteousness and that she had been justified in her treatment of Caroline, despite her brain reminding her that she really was in the wrong.

After school, Elena joined Tyler in the woods behind the Salvatore house for training. Since watching Bonnie take out both Tommy and Damon a few days ago, Elena dedicated a lot more effort to her training with Tyler instead of taking rescue for granted, understanding that they might not be able to get to her. As usual, Tyler worked her hard, forcing her to run through the forest almost non-stop.

"Break. I need a break." Elena panted, finally surrendering to her bodies need for oxygen. "And don't start with 'they're not going to give you a break.' They're not the ones chasing me." She gasped out as Tyler opened his mouth.

Tyler chuckled. "Alright. But just for a minute."

"Seriously? What are you, a sadist? My track and field coach isn't this hard on us." Elena grumbled.

"He's not teaching you to run for your life." Tyler pointed out, still laughing.

"I still think there's something seriously wrong with you."

"That is a distinct possibility."

They were both silent for a few seconds.

"Can I ask you something?" Elena asked when she finally caught her breath.

"I might not answer."

"I don't know how to stop being so self-absorbed. Or Damon absorbed for that matter." Elena admitted.

"That's not a question." Tyler pointed out.

"I mean, I know it's wrong and I want to stop but every time I try, it's like this feeling comes over me and I can't."

"Still not a question."

"Can you help me? I mean, you used to be pretty narcissistic and now you're fairly grown-up and mature. You have to have some pointers."

"Insults in order to get favors. Interesting strategy." Tyler commented.

"Do you have any advice or not?" Elena asked, annoyed.

"Spend time with other people, ask them about their problems, and not just when you want to avoid another topic." Tyler suggested.

Elena blushed, realizing that he had known why she asked Caroline about her day at lunch.

"Okay. I think I can do that."

"Really? That task isn't too difficult for Princess Elena?" Tyler asked, sarcasm and laughter battling for dominance over his voice.

"I'm not a princess." Elena argued.

"Then what are you?" Tyler asked, genuinely curious.

"Gone." Elena said with a grin before kicking him in the balls and taking off, sprinting through the forest laughing.

They continued training for another hour, focusing on Elena's physical stamina and trying to reduce her trail. Tyler always managed to catch her, but Elena could see herself improving.

"Do you need to take a break from training with me and try to work with Bonnie tomorrow? You need to be able to defend yourself too." Elena asked Tyler when they were finished for the day. The two of them were standing by his car, watching Bonnie practice against Damon and Tommy. Even Elena had to admit that Bonnie was spectacular. She not only held her own against the two experienced vampires, but she often managed to defeat them unless she was fatigued. Of course, that weakness was what her trainers focused on fixing, so their practice sessions often ran long in an attempt to build up her stamina.

"No. Bonnie's been keeping us up to date on any advice Tommy gives her. She even practices with us every night for a few minutes. It's not much, but it's enough that if we get attacked without her we'll be able to hold our own." Tyler explained.

Elena nodded, relieved. "What's she doing right now?" She asked, watching as Bonnie closed her eyes in concentration and Damon suddenly froze.

"She's practicing an immobilization spell." Tommy said as he walked up. "It won't require continued concentration to keep active, unlike the elemental magic, so if she can manage to catch the coven by surprise, she'll have a huge advantage. In addition, it's going to tire her out so that we can test her endurance. At this point, fatigue is one of her main weaknesses, especially after a spell, so we're working on her stamina."

"Is she going to be alright?" Elena asked.

"I think so. She's progressing quickly, quicker than any other witch I've ever seen. Her sheer talent is shocking. The problem comes in with stamina. She can do complicated spells with ease, but she tires. If we can overcome that weakness before they attack, I think she has a very good chance of defeating them." Tommy explained, watching Damon resume his attack after Bonnie lifted her immobilization spell.

"How's her control?" Tyler asked.

"Amazing, especially for her age. As soon as she started practicing, it came right to her. Like I said, sheer talent."

"She's a really powerful witch." Elena commented.

Tommy nodded, watching her release Damon before tripping him with a tree root when he tried to attack her.

After another ten minutes, Damon called an end to the practice session. He and Bonnie started walking towards the other three.

"Bonnie, can we talk?" Elena called when they got close.

Bonnie looked apprehensive but agreed. She turned around and headed back towards the clearing where she had been practicing. Elena followed.

Bonnie turned and eyed Elena warily, not saying anything.

"I wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have accused you like that." Elena said.

"No, you shouldn't have but that's not why I'm mad. Well, its part of why I'm mad, but the main reason is that you didn't want him to help me. The one time I'm in danger, you were more worried about your relationship than you were about my safety. I've nearly died for you. I offered to die for you. I don't think asking for your boyfriend's help should be a big deal." Bonnie explained. She clearly wanted to repair their friendship, but for the first time in a long time, Elena knew that Bonnie wasn't going to back down.

Elena was overwhelmed with guilt. "I'm sorry. I got so caught up in Stefan and Damon that I gave up on our friendship and I let my priorities get all out of whack. I'm going to start doing better. I'm going to get back to the old me."

"Good. I kinda miss my friend." Bonnie smiled slightly.

"Well she's coming back. Does this mean we're good?" Elena asked.

"Yeah." Bonnie smiled before Elena pulled her in for a hug. Despite Bonnie's agreement, Elena saw that she was still hesitant about their friendship and wasn't just going to start trusting her again.

"Good." Elena pulled back. "Do you want to hang out tonight?"

Bonnie hesitated before answering, giving Elena a sinking feeling.

"Maybe some other time, Lena. I have a lot of homework to catch up on."

Elena nodded, ignoring her disappointment.

"But I'll see you tomorrow at school?" Bonnie asked, clearly trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah. Sounds good." Elena said, giving Bonnie a smile.

Bonnie smiled back and waved good bye, heading back towards Tyler, who was giving her a ride home.

After they left, Elena walked towards Damon and Tommy.

"Damon, can we talk?"

Damon glanced at her, clearly about to blow her off, when she continued.

"It's about Bonnie."

Damon nodded instantly and Tommy walked off while Damon shot him a warning glance. Elena tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach at the fact that it was Bonnie's name and not herself who got him to talk to her.

"Damon, I know you've been flirting with Bonnie." Elena started off. When he froze at her accusation, what little doubt she had the he would ever flirt with or even care for Bonnie disappeared. In the past, he had only ever payed attention to Bonnie when he needed her magic or Elena needed her. He would protect her, but only for Elena. Clearly, that was no longer the case. Somehow, he had come to care for Bonnie and it had absolutely nothing to do with Elena. Elena felt the sting of betrayal and for the first time since her talk with Tyler, she didn't try to control her anger.

"How could you?" She growled, trying to sound threatening. "My best friend? How could you throw away everything we have for some flirtation, and with Bonnie of all people? You would risk not having me for Bonnie?" Elena felt her anger growing, and with it her hysteria. She couldn't lose Damon. Not now.

"Everything we have, Elena?" He shouted. "We have nothing. We don't talk, all we do is have sex. Everything I know about I found out from somebody else or from spying on you! Everything you know about me Stefan told you! And you still look at him like you're in love with him! I can't trust you or respect you and you sure as hell aren't in love with me! So no, I'm not willing to throw what we have away because there's nothing to throw away!"

"That's not true!" Elena shouted back. She had relied on the fact that he was so in love with her he would never leave her, and now it felt like everything was falling down around her.

"Yes it is, and the fact that you can't see that is just a sign of how bad it is!"

"Are you breaking up with me?" She shouted, tears welling up. "Are you seriously going to break up with me because of some bitchy, judgmental witch? She'll never love you like I do, Damon. She'll never forgive you or see the good in you! She'll never be as good as me!" She shouted over her tears.

Damon's low growl pulled her out of her desperate thoughts. The look on his face was pure rage, causing Elena to tremble and back away slowly. While she had seen that look on his face before, it had never been directed at her. She knew what happened to people that he looked at like that, and it was never pretty.

"I suggest you stop talking about Bonnie right now. I really don't know what I'll do if you don't." He growled lowly.

"I'm sorry." Elena whispered, terrified for her life.

"You should leave." He whispered in a dark, feral tone.

Elena nodded before turning to dash of to her car.

"Oh and Elena?" He called.

She turned back around.

"We're over. And if you hurt Bonnie or try to make her feel guilty about it, you won't like who I turn into." He stated darkly before striding back into the house.

Elena trembled the whole way home, but whether it was from fear or sadness, she didn't know.

BDBDBD

 _Earlier that afternoon_

Stefan sat in a booth in the grill, Caroline across from him. Both of them were pretending to eat burgers and milkshakes while watching Amy out of the corners of their eyes. Amy, who was flirting with Matt at the bar, didn't seem to notice.

"Bonnie charmed something for Matt, right?" He asked Caroline. Since the first day they followed Amy, she had flirted with Matt almost every day, and Stefan was beginning to worry for his safety. If Amy was involved in this, Matt would make an easy target.

"Of course she did. You know how Bonnie is. She probably would have made charms for the entire town if she thought it would protect them better than her learning about her magic." Caroline answered.

Stefan nodded, relieved.

"So how much longer do we follow her before we decide that she's alright?" Caroline asked.

"Until they attack again or we get a sign that they're about to attack some other way. We can't take a chance on this." Stefan explained.

Caroline nodded.

"So how are you holding up?" Stefan asked.

"I'm fine. It's Bonnie I'm worried about." Caroline answered.

"I know you're worried about her, but I want to know how you're doing. They're coming after you too." Stefan pointed out. Since the coven showed up, Caroline had been spending a lot less time living her normal life. She had fallen even deeper into the supernatural business, and he knew it was weighing on her. As much as she liked being a vampire, she still wanted at least somewhat of a normal life.

"I'm not worried that they'll kill me." Caroline started. Stefan felt his heart clench at the thought.

"I mean, that's pretty much par for the course here. I just don't want to lose anyone else. We've all seen enough death." Caroline whispered.

Stefan nodded. He wanted to promise that they wouldn't lose anyone, but he couldn't. No matter how hard they tried in the past, they were never quite successful at protecting everyone. He didn't want to lie to Caroline, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Aren't you supposed to say that we can keep everyone safe?" Caroline asked at his silence.

"Caroline…" Stefan started.

"I know. We'll never be able to keep everyone safe. You know, just once it would be nice if the bad guys would leave innocent bystanders alone." Caroline groused.

Stefan longed to tell her that everything would be alright, but he knew that those weren't the words she wanted to hear. There wouldn't be any truth behind them, and they both knew it. As much as Caroline valued her optimism, she liked it to be based on reality, not fantasy. A lie wouldn't bring her any comfort.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his shin, breaking through his dark thoughts.

"Ow." He grunted, glaring at Caroline who had kicked him.

"Look over there." She whispered, never taking her eyes off of whatever had captured her attention.

Stefan followed her gaze, and saw that Amy was no longer talking to Matt but had found a table in the corner and was talking to an older man. Stefan strained to listen into their conversation, but he couldn't hear a thing.

"Can you hear them?" Caroline asked, face straining in concentration.

"Nope. Either they're witches preventing us from listening in…" He started.

"Or they're just really good lip readers." Caroline finished. "So what's the plan?"

"You keep following Amy, just in case, and I'll follow the new guy. You need to be extra careful, just in case we've already been made." Stefan instructed.

"What about you? You might need back up." Caroline argued.

"This could just be a distraction. Give us someone new to follow in the hopes that it will get us off Amy's trail. If I need your help, I'll call." Stefan explained. While this was all true, he had another reason for sending Caroline after Amy. He knew that this new warlock was likely far stronger than Amy, and he didn't want Caroline getting in a fight with him. However, he knew that Caroline would never go for that reason, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Fine. But you'd better promise to call me right away if anything starts happening." Caroline grumbled.

Stefan nodded. "We'll meet at Bonnie's at nine. If either of us need to keep spying, we'll call." He instructed.

A couple minutes later, the older witch left the bar, and Stefan followed as stealthily as he could. The warlock climbed into an old four-door sedan and drove calmly off, following traffic laws to the letter.

Stefan easily kept pace with the car, staying far enough back to avoid raising any suspicion. He had left the car with Caroline, so he ran along the side of the road, using bushes, trees, and fences for cover. Unfortunately, he suspected that it wouldn't make much of a difference. The warlock was driving far too carefully. Even the strictest cop would have trouble finding fault with his driving, leading Stefan to suspect that he already knew that he was being tailed.

When the warlock pulled into a house on the outskirts of town, Stefan stayed as far away as he could while still having a relatively good view of the house. The warlock walked calmly inside, never even glancing over his shoulder, another red flag. Stefan was just beginning to wonder if he should call Caroline for back up when he felt a sharp sting in the back of his neck before he collapsed, darkness rushing up to meet him.

BDBDBD

Damon growled down into his bourbon. He didn't want to analyze his break up with Elena, that was the kind of shit Stefan did, but he couldn't quite stop his own thoughts.

After finally winning, finally getting the girl, he had broken up with her after two weeks. The supposed love of his life. He nearly snorted at the ridiculousness of it. Suddenly, it occurred to him that that meant that Stefan got the girl. Again. Somehow, it didn't bother him as much as it used too. Instead, he felt almost relieved. He felt free. Free from his endless Petrova obsession, free from Katherine's hold. He could live his life without worrying about stealing Stefan's girl. Looking back, he realized that that was a large part of his motivation for pursuing Elena. He had wanted to steal something from Stefan, the way Katherine had been stolen from him. It was a messed up situation, even by his standards.

Despite a sense of relief, Damon also felt lonely. If the great, forgiving, kind Elena couldn't love him, who could? Even as he thought it, he realized that Elena wasn't as kind or forgiving as she purported to be. Sure, she forgave him for a lot of messed up crap, but now he found himself wondering how much of that was due to her need for his attention. Her forgiveness always came with a price tag. Her kindness was at least more genuine, but even that was tinged with pity for him and her own need for his attention. What was worse, some part of Damon had always known that. Hell, it was what most of his hope had rested on.

Damon cursed and threw his glass into the fire place. He was sick of settling for second place. He realized just how much that resembled his conversation with Bonnie all those weeks ago and chuckled darkly. Thinking about Bonnie reminded him of Elena's insults earlier. When she had started insulting Bonnie, he had almost killed her on the spot. However, it was her comments right afterward that truly cut him. The hopelessness he felt when she said that Bonnie would never love him, never forgive him, nearly destroyed him. He hadn't even realized he wanted Bonnie to forgive him, that he craved her love. Now, it was all he could think about.

 _The little witch might care about me as a friend, but she'll never fully forgive me. Not after everything. She'll meet someone else, a good guy who won't do all the stupid stuff I do, and fall head over heels._

At the thought, Damon spun around and poured himself another glass of bourbon. As he took his first sip, another thought occurred to him. Bonnie hadn't wanted Stefan in her dreams, she'd wanted him. Instead of looking for prince charming, she'd asked him, in all his messed up glory, for help. It wasn't much, but it was enough to give him hope. He wasn't sure why he needed it quite so much, but it was enough to calm him down and keep him from destroying the house in anger.

As he was finishing his fourth glass, his phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he fought the giddy feeling in his chest when he noticed it was Bonnie calling. Pushing the feeling aside, he answered gruffly. "What?"

"Damon! Is Stefan there?" She asked, clearly panicking.

Jealousy surged through Damon. "No. Why would he be? He's been spending all his time with you." He growled. He knew it was petty and untrue, but right then he really didn't care.

"Damon, he's not here. He and Caroline were following Amy when she met a warlock and they split up. Stefan followed the new guy and he was supposed to be back here at nine and he still isn't here or answering his phone."

 **AN: Again, I apologize for the amount of Elena time. She kinda got away from me. I actually like my version of her and it was interesting exploring her decisions and viewpoint. However, that is almost certainly the most we will see of her in this story. For those of you who don't like her, don't worry, this won't become a pattern.**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Thanks for all the support everyone. You may have noticed the ratings change for this story. There is a torture scene in this chapter and while I don't find it particularly intense, others might disagree. If you don't want to read it, the scene change signal (DBDBDB) on both sides of the scene are bold and underlined, so just skip the stuff in the middle. Consider this fair warning. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

"Damon, Stefan's not here. He and Caroline were following Amy when she met a warlock and they split up. Stefan followed the new guy and he was supposed to be back here at nine and he still isn't here or answering his phone." Bonnie was clearly panicking.

"What?" Damon jumped off of the couch he had been sitting on. With a glance at the clock, he realized that it was only 9:15. However, it was unlike Stefan to be so careless, especially knowing the danger they were in.

"I'll be right there. Have you tried a locator spell?" He asked, pushing his panic down and assuming command.

"No. I'll do one now." Bonnie answered, much calmer than a few seconds before.

Damon didn't bother answering as he hung up and ran out the door. Sprinting towards Bonnie's house, he kept his mind carefully blank. If he thought about Stefan now, his worry would consume him and block out his planning abilities, so he didn't think about anything.

Upon bursting through the door, the first thing he saw was Bonnie standing in front of a map on the table, looking worried. Her eyes shot towards him at his noisy entrance.

"Where is he?" He asked, getting down to business.

"I don't know. They're blocking me. I can't find him." She said, already moving towards her grimoire to search for a counter spell.

Damon growled before turning towards Caroline, who was standing beside where Bonnie had been, worry and a few tears marring her features.

"What the hell were you thinking, splitting up? Don't you know that they're after us?" He shouted at her.

"I didn't think. He said everything would be fine." She murmured, sounding almost child-like.

"Of course you didn't think. You never do." Damon was about to keep tearing into her when Bonnie intervened.

"Damon!"

He spun towards her.

"Leave her alone. Can't you see she feels guilty enough as it is? It's not even her fault. Stefan's the one who said they should split up." Bonnie defended.

"It is her fault!" Damon shouted. "She's standing here and he isn't!"

"Damon! We need to find him and this isn't helping!" Bonnie shouted back, matching him in tone and volume.

Damon glowered, but shut up.

Bonnie flipped furiously through her grimoire while Tyler came over to help her look. Damon started pacing nervously, too anxious to even attempt sitting down.

Finally, Bonnie gave up. "I can't find anything in here that would break their spell. Not without knowing what it is." Bonnie growled in frustration before slamming the book shut.

"That's it. Where does Amy live?" Damon barked.

"I'll show you." Caroline jumped up, grabbing her jacket.

"You've done enough for today." Damon snapped. "Just tell me where she is."

"No. I can help. Stefan's my best friend and he needs me." Caroline declared passionately, already moving towards the door before Damon could respond.

"What part of 'no' is confusing you? I don't need you messing this up too." Damon shouted at her.

"Damon! That's enough. This isn't her fault." Bonnie shouted, again.

Damon growled low in his throat, but didn't continue arguing.

"Besides, you're going to need some backup if you're going to fight witches." Bonnie spoke after Damon calmed himself a little.

"That's why you're coming." Damon argued.

"No. Tyler and I are going to talk to Tommy, see if he knows what spell they're using or if he knows where they are. You and Caroline go find Amy." Bonnie declared.

Damon begrudgingly admitted that it was a good plan. "Fine. You can come, Blondie. But you'd better be at the top of your game."

Caroline nodded before dashing out the front door. Damon sprinted after her.

They ran all the way to Amy's house, neither wanting to take a car. It was a wise decision, not just because running was faster, but also because Damon knew they couldn't be civil in an enclosed space.

When they arrived, Damon ran up to the front door and started banging on it almost hard enough to knock it down.

"Open up!" He shouted. He knew that the witches doubtless already knew they were there, so there really wasn't much point in subtlety, not that he was ever good at it.

"There's usually just Amy and her mom. I haven't seen either of them ever even attempt magic, so I have no idea how powerful they are." Caroline interrupted his knocking.

Damon nodded. Honestly, he hadn't really considered the thought that there might be more than one witch there. Still, he continued pounding on the door until it was opened by a girl he assumed was Amy.

"Where the hell is my brother?" He growled at her. He would've shoved her up against the wall, but she was smart enough to remain inside where he couldn't reach her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She answers confidently.

"Don't lie to us, Amy. We know you know where Stefan is." Caroline murmured threateningly.

"You mean the other blonde creep who's been stalking me?" She replied, leaning against the door jamb in a casual pose that belied her rushing heartbeat.

Damon growled sinisterly. "What are you going to do, Amy? Take out two vampires? Admit it, you're afraid. Just tell us where he is and we won't hurt you."

"I don't have to take you out. You can't come in, remember?" Amy answered, never losing her cool exterior.

"No. But we can make you come out." Caroline stated, her anger calm and controlled. "What do you think, Damon? Fire?"

"We could always threaten an innocent life." Damon grumbled. "It'd be faster."

Caroline glowered at him before turning her eyes to Amy. "If you don't want this place to go up in smoke, I suggest you start talking."

Damon smirked, impressed with Caroline's ruthlessness.

Amy closed her eyes and chanted. After a few seconds, her nose began to bleed. Once she opened her eyes, she looked exhausted.

"I just made this house fireproof." She murmured triumphantly before collapsing to the floor, still inside the house, unfortunately.

Caroline growled in frustration. Damon punched the wall, fist going straight through until it hit the barrier.

"What now?" Caroline asked, tension oozing off her frame.

"Call Matt. He can go in and get her." Damon instructed, pulling out his own phone, intent on calling Bonnie.

Caroline grabbed her phone and shot to the sidewalk while Damon dialed Bonnie's number. Before she could even say hello, Damon started talking. "We're bringing Amy to the boarding house. You and Tommy need to figure out a way to control her powers so we can question her."

"You mean torture her." Bonnie objected.

"Bonnie… Please. It's Stefan. I know I fucked up, but…" Damon didn't get to finish his thought.

"Okay." Bonnie agreed.

"Thanks." Damon answered before hanging up.

"When's the jock getting here?" He asked, turning to Caroline.

"About five minutes. How long do you think she'll be out?"

Damon sighed. Since he didn't know how strong she usually was, he honestly didn't have a clue. Caroline seemed to pick up on that and didn't ask again.

"Where else did she go?" He asked, trying to avoid thinking about Stefan.

"Just the Grill to flirt with Matt. She never really did much outside of that."

"Damn it." He muttered.

After what seemed like an eternity, Matt finally pulled up.

"Great. Just took you forever to get here. Now get her out." Damon ordered.

"Get who out?" Matt asked before he caught sight of Amy. "Oh my god, is she alright?" He asked, rushing forward.

Damon froze. "You didn't tell him?" He growled at Caroline, who at least had the decency to look contrite.

"I was trying to protect him." She semi-explained before turning to Matt. "She's part of the coven that's trying to kill Bonnie."

"What?" Matt shouted, jumping up from where he'd been checking Amy's pulse. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't want to be dragged into supernatural stuff." Caroline tried to explain.

"Yeah, but I'd like to know if I'm putting myself or others in danger!"

"Shut up!" Damon shouted, interrupting their spat. Pointing at Matt, he said "You are going to bring her out and hand her over to me so that I can figure out where the hell my brother is."

Matt nodded before picking up Amy and handing her over. As soon as he had her, Damon took off towards the boarding house, Caroline hot on his heels.

When they arrived, they ran straight to the basement where Bonnie and Tommy were already set up. Damon quickly tied her to a chair before turning to Bonnie, who handed him a necklace, which he clasped around Amy's neck.

"I'm not sure how long it will hold, but it should keep her from being able to use magic. The spell promised about four hours, but I wouldn't count on it." Bonnie explained briefly.

Damon nodded. "Alright. Everybody out." He ordered.

"No!" Bonnie and Caroline answered together.

Damon turned to glare at them. "I'm about to torture her. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get my brother back. Is that really something either of you want to see?"

Caroline glared right back but it was Bonnie who answered. "Damon, let me try to talk to her first. I might be able to get something out of her since I'm supposed to be such a big deal."

"Or you'll just waste all of our time." Damon snapped back, shooting to stand right in front of her. They were standing so close their chests brushed every time they took a breath.

"Or she might tell me. Who do you think she's more likely to answer, the girl who's supposed to join her team or the abomination?" Bonnie argued, not backing away.

"The guy who's torturing her." Damon shouted right in her face.

"You'll get it eventually but I might get it faster." Bonnie stated calmly, his temper having no effect on her.

Damon glared at her for a few more seconds before agreeing. "You have half an hour." He growled before leaving the room. Caroline followed while Tommy remained in the room.

"I want to be there when you question her." Caroline stated as soon as the door closed.

Damon glanced at her. "Fine." They stood in silence for a few minutes.

"The jock's right, you know." He said.

Caroline glanced at him.

"You should've told him. In this town, what you don't know can, and probably will, kill you." He elaborated.

Caroline nodded before starting to pace.

"He'll be alright." Damon muttered.

Caroline looked at him.

"We'll find him, he'll be fine, and you can go back to whatever it is the two of you usually do."

A few minutes passed, and Damon assumed that the conversation, one sided as it was, was over.

"He loves you. Not entirely sure why, but he does." Caroline murmured.

Damon glanced at her, shocked that she would ever try to offer him comfort. She met his gaze head on.

"You should really try to apologize, you know. When we get him back."

Damon chuckled darkly. "You know I don't apologize."

"At least tell him that you love him. He needs to hear it. He needs his brother." Caroline answered.

Damon nodded.

"Caroline?" He said quietly after a few seconds of silence.

She turned towards him again.

"If you ever tell anyone about this conversation, I'll stake you." Damon stated.

"Right back at you." Caroline replied.

DBDBDB

Stefan slowly pulled himself out of the fog and back into reality. There was something important he had to do, but he couldn't remember what. Finally, he gained enough strength to pry open his eyes. The sight that greeted him was not what he expected.

Instead of a dark room filled with torture implements, he was in what appeared to be a man-cave. Naturally, he was tied to an arm chair using vervain soaked ropes that burned his skin. Directly in front of him was a large ping pong table where two warlocks, at least he assumed they were warlocks, were playing. He turned his head and his eyes met the eyes of the warlock to his left, who jumped in surprise and missed the ball.

"Damn it! That shouldn't count. He distracted me." The one on his left shouted. Naturally, his opponent disagreed.

While they were arguing about whether the point counted, Stefan took a minute to study them and his surroundings. The two boys couldn't be older than about twenty. Both had brown hair and nondescript features. Stefan had to admit that if he had ever seen them before, he probably wouldn't have noticed. Besides the ping pong table, the room was mostly bare and there were no windows or doors insight, leading Stefan to assume that he was in a basement and the door was behind him. Unfortunately, there it was impossible to confirm his suspicion as the chair back blocked his view of anything behind him.

Finally, the two men remembered that there was a dangerous vampire in the room with them and turned towards him.

"Morning Ripper."

"That's right, I forgot he was a ripper. Well, looks like we'll have to punish you for your crimes before we kill you."

"No, no, no. Didn't you hear? No one gets to touch him except the Guardian. Justin wants her to be the one to finish off all of her 'friends'."

"True. How do you think you'll feel, Ripper? When someone you trust starts tearing into you?"

They both chuckled darkly for a few seconds before trailing off when they realized Stefan was laughing too.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Just that you seriously think Bonnie Bennett would ever hurt anyone who isn't a threat to her or her friends. You and Justin are certainly in for a huge surprise." Stefan taunted, leaning his head against the back of the seat and closing his eyes.

They exchanged looks before one of them answered. "She'll do it. All we have to do is remind her of all the people you've hurt. Shouldn't be too difficult, there's quite a lot of them."

"You think she'll ever forget all the people you've hurt? You sent her nightmares of all of the terrible things you've done to people. That's going to stick in her head for a very long time."

"She'll join us. It has been prophesized. It is her destiny." One of them declared authoritatively.

Stefan laughed again, shaking his head. "You're going to have fun arguing with her. If she doesn't like you, it's like talking to a stone wall. Trust me, I've seen it enough times to know."

The two of them glared, clearly not satisfied with his reactions to their threats.

"Well then it's a good thing you're about to tell us her weaknesses. Put him under again." One said. The other one disappeared for a few seconds before Stefan felt a sharp sting in his neck, exactly like before.

 _No._ Stefan panicked as he began to go under. _Caroline._

 _Stefan was lying on soft grass, watching clouds float overhead. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, smelling the grass and trees around him. He felt the sun on his skin, and peace overwhelmed him._

 _"Stefan?"_

 _Stefan turned his head towards the voice. Smiling, he caught sight of Caroline lying side-by-side with him, smiling. She was wearing a yellow sundress and her hair curled around her face softly. Her blue eyes were glued to his, and he couldn't help but smile back._

 _"Hey." He grinned._

 _"Hey. You kinda blanked out on me for a second. You alright?" Caroline asked._

 _"I'm fine." Stefan answered._

 _"Good. You ready to eat?" Caroline sat up, turning away from him for a second._

 _"Yeah. What's for lunch?" Stefan sat up as well and watched her reach into the picnic basket on her other side._

 _"I picked up some sandwiches from the deli. Your favourite." Caroline grinned, handing him one before pulling out some sodas and opening them._

 _Stefan grinned and unwrapped his sandwich. "This is perfect."_

 _"Duh. It's your favourite." Caroline laughed._

 _They ate in silence for a few seconds before Caroline suddenly stood up. "Come on."_

 _"What are we doing?" Stefan grinned, standing up._

 _"Dancing." She smiled at him before pulling him a few feet away from the basket._

 _Stefan smiled back, pulling her into his arms and swaying gently. "You know there isn't any music, right?"_

 _"So we make our own."_

 _Stefan laughed at her cheesy line. "Have you been reading cheesy pick-up lines again?"_

 _"No." Caroline denied, but her slight blush told a different story._

 _"It's alright. I like them." He told her._

 _"That's because you're a sap." Caroline teased, blush disappearing._

 _"True, but I'm your sap." Stefan smiled before bending his head towards hers. She craned her neck towards him, and they met half-way. The kiss was soft and gentle, her lips gently molding to his. His hands pulled her closer until their bodies were flush against each other and her hands migrated from his shoulders to his hair. The kiss managed to be completely novel and totally familiar simultaneously. After a couple seconds, Stefan pulled back, but not before gently swiping his tongue across her lips._

 _Fireworks went off behind him, but he didn't care. All he could think about was the beautiful woman in his arms._

 _"Wow. All that for the fourth of July?" She murmured breathlessly._

 _That finally caught Stefan's attention and he glanced around. They were standing at the top of the hill and the picnic basket had completely disappeared. They were both wearing different clothes, Caroline in a bright red shirt and white skinny jeans and Stefan in a dark red shirt with dark wash jeans. Every couple of seconds, patriotic fireworks exploded in the night sky above their heads._

 _"Stefan?" Caroline asked, reminding him that he hadn't answered her question._

 _"What? A guy can't try to make the fourth special for his girl?" Stefan answered, grinning at her. He couldn't remember the last time he had smiled this much._

 _"Like I said, sap." Caroline laughed before pulling him back down for another kiss._

 _A quick peck on the lips and suddenly they were in front of a stove where French toast was cooking. Caroline was wearing one of his blue button up shirts with nothing else and her hair was pulled up into a messy bun._

 _"Good timing. They're ready." Stefan said with a grin before flipping the toast onto plates. While he set them on the table, Caroline grabbed syrup from the pantry._

 _"Finally. I thought I was going to starve to death." Caroline teased while plopping onto a chair._

 _Stefan chuckled before pouring syrup over his toast._

 _"So Bonnie and Damon want to go to lunch with us." Caroline said after a few minutes of eating._

 _"Sounds good. We haven't seen them in forever."_

 _"You and Damon hung out yesterday." Caroline laughed._

 _"Yeah, but you and Bonnie weren't there."_

 _"So I take it you wanna go?"_

 _Stefan grinned before pulling her in for a kiss._

 **BDBDBD**

Caroline followed Damon down into the basement. As predicted, Amy hadn't told Bonnie anything despite her and Tommy's best efforts.

Immediately upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Damon went over to a cabinet and pulled out a large bucket.

"Fill this with water then come back." He ordered Caroline.

Caroline grabbed the bucket and dashed upstairs to fill it. When she returned, she discovered a fire burning brightly with a long metal poker sticking out of it. There was a table directly in front of and a couple yards away from Amy where Damon directed her to place the bucket. It was at the perfect height for holding her face under water without untying her. Caroline shuddered before reminding herself that this needed to be done.

"Here." Damon said, handing her a knife. "Hope you've eaten cause this is about to get bloody." He grinned sadistically at Amy, taunting her.

Amy trembled and pulled against her bonds, the reality of her situation sinking in. Her eyes widened as she glanced between Caroline and Damon.

"Please Caroline! You don't want to do this. This isn't you!" She begged.

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" Damon questioned. "Because if you're going to be a problem, you should leave now. I'm going to get my brother back regardless of how you feel about hurting her."

Caroline looked into his eyes. The only thing that matched his desperation was his determination.

"It's not going to be a problem. We're bringing Stefan home." She said, gripping the knife tightly.

"Good." Damon grinned. "Begin whenever you're ready."

Caroline nodded. Stalking towards Amy, she began to speak. "This can be painless, Amy. All you have to do is tell me where they're holding Stefan."

Amy shook her head. "Please, Caroline. This isn't you. You're just a high school cheerleader. You don't want to torture me." Tears started to fall down her face, trailing mascara after them.

"There's only one thing you need to know about me. I will do whatever it takes to bring Stefan home. So last chance. Where. Is. He." Caroline asked, grabbing the back of the chair behind Amy and leaning over so that their faces almost touched.

Amy leaned as far back into the seat as possible, but she couldn't escape Caroline.

Caroline growled before dragging the knife slowly down Amy's arm, slicing through her shirt and leaving a thin trail of blood. Amy jerked against her bonds, trying to avoid the blade, causing it to slip a bit deeper into her arm. Even then the cut wasn't very deep, but Amy whimpered all the same.

Caroline removed the knife and watched Amy for a minute before moving to the other arm and repeating the action. Again, Amy thrashed to no avail.

"Wow. If you're struggling that much just from a couple cuts, you'll have so much fun when I get started." Damon commented from behind Amy.

Caroline watched as he pulled the poker out of the fire and paused to admire its glowing end. He grinned at her before walking directly behind Amy and shoving it into her upper right arm without warning.

Caroline had never heard anything quite like Amy's screams of pain. The smell of burning cloth and seared skin filled the room and Caroline turned away in disgust. A few seconds later, she heard Damon replace the poker in the fire while Amy continued to scream.

"Yep. That'll leave a scar." He commented drily.

Amy finally stopped screaming. "You bastard. I'm going to enjoy watching Bonnie kill you. I'm sure she'll make it painful."

Damon chuckled. "Intimidating. Come on Blondie. Let's get back to it."

Caroline turned back around and studied Amy for a second. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was covered in runny makeup. Her hair was wildly messed up thanks to her thrashing her head against the seat and her wrists were red from where the ropes had rubbed her raw. If it wasn't for the quiet voice in the back of Caroline's mind reminding her that Stefan was in danger, she probably would have run out of the room. Instead, she gripped her knife firmly and tugged the ropes further down Amy's right wrist before gently placing the blade on the chafed portion of skin. After a moment to let Amy's fear sink in, she began to slowly apply pressure.

Unlike with the last few cuts, Amy held deathly still. Eventually, she began to whimper as the knife slowly sank into her flesh. Caroline paused again, watching Amy bite her lip and clench her other hand in order to keep from screaming and struggling. After a few seconds, Caroline resumed forcing the knife into Amy's skin, watching blood flow out of the wound as Amy shrieked.

"Relax. She's not going to cut off your hand. Not yet at least." Damon commented from behind Caroline.

"Fuck you." Amy growled. "Fuck you and your sanctimonious brother. You're all abominations and you'll all rot in hell when Bonnie takes her rightful place."

"Just tell us where he is and you might get the chance to actually see that." Caroline growled, not moving the knife any deeper.

"It won't help. If he's not already dead, he's definitely in more pain than either of you will ever be able to cause me."

Caroline sensed Damon stepping forward to hurt the bitch, but she got there first. In one smooth motion, she removed the knife from Amy's wrist and plunged it into her burnt arm, twisting as she did so.

Amy's unearthly scream was unlike anything she had ever heard. Caroline nearly lost her lunch but continued her twisting.

"Enough." Damon whispered in her ear.

"She's about to break." Caroline growled back, already picturing them rescuing Stefan.

"I know, but it's going to take an extra push and you don't want that on your conscience, no matter how much you care for my brother." Damon murmured while carefully removing the knife from both her hand and Amy's shoulder.

Caroline glanced at Amy's whimpering form and nodded. "Finish it." She commanded, ready to find Stefan.

Damon turned and shoved the poker deep into Amy's thigh. Caroline watched as the girl twisted and writhed, trying to escape the pain. Damon burned her for almost twice the amount of time he burned her last time. Immediately after removing the poker, he jabbed the knife into the new wound, copying Caroline's earlier motions.

"You ready to talk?" He growled into Amy's ear, giving the knife an especially vicious twist.

"Yes! Yes! He's in the abandoned house on Maple St. They're holding him in the basement." Amy shrieked, tears flowing down her face.

"How many witches?" Damon asked, ceasing his movements but not removing the knife.

"I don't know." Amy sobbed, guilt lacing her voice.

"How many witches?" Damon growled louder, twisting again.

"There are five of us in town, but I don't know how many are there." Amy shrieked before dropping her head, sobbing.

"Good girl." Damon whispered before standing up, hurling the knife across the room, and dashing up the stairs.

"We'll send someone down to check your wounds." Caroline murmured before running after him, ignoring Amy's look of despair.

 **BDBDBD**

"Are you alright?"

Caroline glanced at Bonnie and noted her look of concern. "I'm fine. What's the plan?" She asked, turning to Damon.

"What do you think? We're going to rescue my brother." Damon declared, checking a crossbow to see if it worked.

"You don't think we should have a better plan than that? There are going to be four witches, probably all more experienced than me. We should have some sort of plan beyond go in, guns blazing." Bonnie pointed out.

"Bonnie's right. We have to be smart about this." Tommy agreed.

"I have a better plan. We're trading them Amy. They get their witch and I get my brother. Everybody wins." Damon growled.

"They won't accept a trade. It's one of their major rules. If you're dumb enough to get captured, you're on your own." Tommy objected.

"Alright hotshot, what's your brilliant idea?" Damon barked at Tommy.

"Misdirection. We get them to all come out of the house while Tyler and I sneak in to free Stefan." Tommy suggested.

"Won't that be the first thing they suspect?" Caroline objected.

"Not if we do it right. See, the Aloquoi coven has one major weakness. They've never been defeated."

"Yeah, that sounds like a real good weakness to exploit." Damon grumbled.

"They'll suspect a distraction attempt, so they'll have spells in place to alert them to it. If Bonnie can get us past their outer perimeter, they'll never see us coming until we're already gone." Tommy continued, ignoring Damon's interruption.

"That could work. Do you have a spell to make you untraceable?" Bonnie asked, jumping up from her seat.

"I'll write it down for you." Tommy grabbed a paper and pen and started scribbling, Bonnie leaning over his shoulder.

"Fantastic. You all create a distraction and I'll sneak in and grab my baby bro." Damon decided.

"I'm coming with you." Caroline objected. She wasn't leaving Stefan's life in Damon's hands, regardless of Damon's recent demonstrations of protectiveness.

"Nope. Sorry Blondie. They'll notice if you aren't there. I'm going in alone." Damon informed Caroline.

"And they won't notice if his brother isn't there?" Caroline objected, stomping towards Damon.

"Stop it. Both of you. Neither of you can go in. They'll expect both of you to be there." Bonnie snapped, stepping in between the irate vampires.

"Then who the hell are we going to send in? Tommy?" Caroline shouted at Bonnie.

"Of course not. He's going to be far too useful as a distraction. Tyler goes in." Bonnie stated. While her tone was calm, she glanced back and forth between the vampires on either side of her.

"Tyler? You want to send some werewolf in after my brother? It isn't the full moon, Bonnie. He's not going to be strong enough!" Damon barked, clenching his fists at his sides.

"Bonnie's right. Tyler is the only one who they won't be on the lookout for." Tommy declared, rising from his seat to hand Bonnie the spell.

"So the four of us ring the doorbell, ask for a nice little chat, and hope that Tyler can get Stefan out?" Caroline asked incredulously.

"Hey! I can get Stefan out. I'm not incompetent." Tyler snapped, glaring at Caroline.

Caroline glanced away in shame, trying to avoid his angry and hurt eyes.

"Of course you're not incompetent." Bonnie defended, trying to calm Tyler. From anyone else, her words would have sounded patronizing, but Bonnie sounded sincere. "And it's not going to be the four of us going up to the house. Just me and Tommy." She informed Damon and Caroline.

"Then what the hell are Caroline and I going to be doing? You just said that it would be suspicious if we weren't… Oh. That's actually not an awful plan." Damon grumbled begrudgingly.

"What plan? Where are we going to be?" Caroline asked desperately.

"We're the distraction. Bonnie and Tommy get their attention, and we try to sneak on. When we trigger their alarms, we get to Bonnie. They'll think that's the extent of our plan while Tyler slips past their defenses using Bonnie's cloaking spell." Damon explained.

"Oh." Caroline murmured. As much as she hated not being the one to get Stefan, she had to admit that this plan was their best shot.

"Let's do this."

BDBDBD

Bonnie marched up the long, winding driveway. Luckily, the house the coven chose was situated far enough back into the trees that no one driving past would see anything that went down. Bonnie focused on maintaining a calm and confident exterior. She needed to convince the witches that she was powerful enough to take them out.

Right now, she actually felt powerful enough to manage it. She didn't know how much was actual confidence in her abilities and how much was Damon's blood racing through her veins.

Flashback:

 _Bonnie finished performing the charm that would keep Tyler hidden from the other witches. Taking a gasping breath, she leaned over the table, struggling to remain upright._

 _"Bonnie?" She heard Caroline's concerned voice._

 _"I'm alright." She waved Caroline's concern away, forcing herself to stand upright._

 _"Sure you are." Damon said with an eye roll before gently grabbing her waist. He tugged her flush against him, and Bonnie was too weak to resist his pull. However, when he suddenly bit into his wrist, allowing his blood to flow out, she tried to jump out of his arm._

 _"What the hell, Damon?" She shrieked._

 _"Bonnie, it's just blood. You need your strength, and this is the easiest way. You've been practicing all day. A massive power boost will probably save your life." He explained, not releasing her but also not moving his wounded wrist any closer to her mouth._

 _Bonnie didn't want to admit that his concern made her heart beat just a little bit faster and she definitely did not like the warm feeling his words invoked._

 _"Besides, this way you and I can communicate through thought, which means you can tell me and Caroline when its go time." Damon continued casually._

 _Bonnie felt a surge of disappointment, and struggled to conceal it. "Alright." She nodded, refusing to meet his gaze._

 _To her surprise, Damon didn't immediately feed her his blood. Instead, he kept speaking. "You should be able to read my thoughts and vice versa for about 24 hours, but only if we send them towards each other. After that it will fade. However, we'll also be able to sense each other's emotions, and that can't be blocked and will take somewhere between two to five weeks to fade."_

 _Bonnie hesitated. She really didn't like the thought of Damon having access to her emotions, but if she wanted the witches to feel threatened, she didn't have much of a choice. "Okay. I'll do it."_

 _Damon bit his already healed wrist again before holding it directly in front of her mouth. Bonnie gingerly placed her open mouth over the wound and carefully sucked. It didn't taste nearly as disgusting as she predicted. Actually, she liked the taste and sucked just a bit harder. Beside her, Damon groaned deep in his throat. Bonnie felt the vibrations travel through her body and she finally looked at him. His eyes were closed and his head tilted back ever so slightly. If Bonnie didn't know better, she'd think that he looked pleased and turned on. She followed his lead, closing her eyes while she continued to drink._

 _After a few more seconds, the wound closed and the blood stopped flowing. Bonnie opened her eyes as she released his arm and found him gazing down at her. Already, she could feel his emotions trickling through the bond, telling her that he was pleased, impressed, and horny. The last feeling caused her to blush, but to her surprise she didn't feel the urge to move away from him. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before a throat cleared._

 _The interruption reminded her that there were other people in the room and she quickly jumped away from Damon, blushing harder. She ignored the sense of disappointment, whether hers or Damon's she wasn't sure, and turned back to the room._

 _"Everyone ready?" She asked._

End of flashback

Bonnie pulled herself out of her reverie and stopped, still about ten feet from the door.

"You got this, Bonnie. Just remember, we need to get their attention." Tommy instructed from her side.

Bonnie didn't acknowledge him. Instead, she raised her arms above her head and called on all of the elements simultaneously. Fire erupted from her hands, shooting straight up into the night sky like a beacon. Wind swirled around her, combing its fingers through her hair before leaping forward to buffet the house. The earth shook, trembling from her power. The night skies broke open, sending down a deluge of water where moments before they had been clear.

"Aloquoi Coven!" Bonnie boomed, using the wind to carry her voice directly to the house. "You took someone that belongs with me!"

"And it's time to give him back."


	12. Chapter 12

_Seriously, Bennett?_ Damon laughed at Bonnie, knowing she could hear him. He didn't tell her that he felt every wave of power flowing through her. _You don't think that was a bit over the top?_

 _Shut up. They're coming out. Four of them. You and Caroline can go when you're ready._ Bonnie answered.

 _'You took someone that belongs with me?'_ Damon chuckled. _Did you get that from a movie?_

 _No. I think your flair for dramatics is rubbing off on me. Now go._ Bonnie ordered. Damon could feel her eyes rolling at his teasing.

 _In that case it's a substantial improvement._ Damon fired a parting shot before signaling Caroline to go.

They moved silently towards the house while Damon listened to the conversation happening on the drive. The blood bond was proving particularly useful as he never would have been able to eavesdrop if he couldn't listen through Bonnie. Currently, the conversation revolved around the standard introductions.

"Bonnie Bennett. The Guardian. My name is Justin. I've looked forward to this day my entire life, though, from the atrocity at your side, I assume that you have not come to take your place at our side." The leader said.

Damon felt recognition and fear overwhelm Bonnie and knew that he was one of the witches from her dreams. _It's alright, Little Bird. We can take him._ He felt Bonnie relax and her confidence return at his words.

"I already told you why we're here. Or weren't you listening?" Bonnie sassed. Damon grinned proudly.

"Yes. You're here for your friend. Are you going to try to convince me that he's a good vampire? That vampires and weres can be good and we need to give them a chance?" Justin taunted condescendingly.

"No. I've found pretty words rarely solve wars." Bonnie responded, calling for her magic. Once again, her magic reached deep inside Damon, flowing through his veins, simultaneously drawing and giving strength. A sense if peace and confidence arrived with the sensation.

"You're declaring war? You cannot defeat us. You won't even be able to rescue your friend." Justin taunted Bonnie. "You and three vampires up against four powerful, experienced witches?"

Damon turned to Caroline. "They know we're here." He whispered. The two of them took off towards Bonnie and Tommy.

"You have nothing. No weapons or back up that can possibly do anything against us." Justin continued mocking as Damon and Caroline arrived.

"True, but we also don't have anything to lose." Damon declared, stopping directly to the right and slightly behind Bonnie. Caroline stood off to his right.

"You think desperation will save you?" Justin laughed. "Although, I suppose it's all you have and it would be cruel of me to destroy your only hope. But rest assured, Swine, Bonnie will join us and none of you will survive. Bonnie, I'll be seeing you." He smiled gently at Bonnie before turning to walk back into the house, the other witches following him.

Damon froze. They still hadn't heard from Tyler telling them that he got Stefan out.

"If you go anywhere near her, I'll kill you." He growled at their retreating backs, stepping in front of Bonnie.

Justin laughed and turned back to face them, his companions following his lead. "Threats have to have power behind them or they're worthless. Tell me, Vampire, how do you plan on killing me?"

"Haven't figured that part out yet, but believe me when I tell you that nothing will stop me if you hurt her." Damon allowed his face to shift into vampire mode as he finished his threat.

Justin laughed darkly before turning to his comrades. "Hear that? This vampire thinks he can kill me." The other three witches joined in his laughter.

"Take him down a notch." Justin ordered, humor suddenly disappearing.

Pain erupted in Damon's skull, sending him to his knees. It was a thousand times worse than any of the aneurisms Bonnie had ever thrown his way. He screamed.

Through the pain, he saw Bonnie throw a fire ball at the group of witches, which they easily deflected. The other vampires surged forward, ready to attack before they too were sent to the ground, shrieking in agony.

Damon watched in pain as Bonnie liquefied the concrete below the witch's feet and they slowly started to sink. She began to advance, hand outstretched, when Stefan and Tyler appeared behind the witches. They ran towards the trapped witches only to be thrown against the side of the house, both knocked unconscious. Bonnie continued to walk towards the witches until a loud, fast series of snaps filled the air.

Damon heard the breaks before the pain registered. At least ten different bones had been broken almost simultaneously and he roared.

"Stop it!" Bonnie screamed, tears in her eyes.

"Release us!" Justin commanded.

"Release my friends first." Bonnie shouted back.

"Do you know that it's possible to kill a vampire with an aneurism? Mind you, it is incredibly painful." Justin murmured thoughtfully before grinning.

Damon felt the pain intensify, to the point where he couldn't even see. He was vaguely aware that his screams were now silent, as if his body didn't have the energy to make noise.

"Alright!" Bonnie screamed.

Instantly, the pain lessened.

"Bonnie, no…" He moaned as he collapsed to the ground in a heap. He felt something trickling down his face and realized after a moment that it was his own blood, seeping from his eyes.

He could do nothing except watch as the witches were released from the ground and Justin approached Bonnie. Tommy and Caroline, who hadn't been dealt the same amount of pain, rushed to stand in front of her only to be thrown to the side.

"Alright what?" Justin murmured, reaching for Bonnie's tearstained cheek.

"I'll come with you." Bonnie sobbed. Damon felt her despair and desperation coupled with relief. Relief that he was alright, alive.

"Bonnie, don't!" Caroline screamed from the tree she was pinned against.

"Bonnie, it's not worth it." He groaned struggling to his feet before feeling his legs swiped out from under him, sending him crashing back to the ground.

"It is if you're safe." She told him without ever taking her eyes off of Justin. "You swear to never hurt my friends and I'll come with you."

"That's rather vague. You could just declare anyone you don't want to kill as a friend." Justin pointed out.

"No one in Mystic Falls gets hurt. It becomes a safe haven for all vampires and werewolves. Anyone who enters the town or a ten mile radius around it is off-limits forever, as long as they stay within that area. My friends will take care of anyone who comes to town and starts killing people." Bonnie negotiated.

"Agreed. Come." Justin turned back to the house.

"I get tonight to say goodbye to my friends." Bonnie said, not moving an inch.

"How do I know you'll come tomorrow?" Justin turned to eye her suspiciously.

"How do I know you won't attack Mystic Falls?" Bonnie returned.

"Seal it."

"Agreed."

"Bonnie don't you dare. You don't know what you're doing!" Tommy shouted at her.

"Bonnie, please." Damon begged quietly. He wasn't sure what "sealing it" meant, but he knew it couldn't be good based off of Tommy's reaction.

"I swear that the Aloquoi coven will not harm anyone within 10 miles of Mystic Falls through out eternity." Justin said, grasping Bonnie's hand.

"I swear to join the Aloquoi coven and work with them, starting tomorrow." Bonnie replied.

Damon felt Bonnie reach for her magic and her and Justin's joined hands started glowing. The warm golden light grew stronger until it was ropes of light, binding their hands together. Suddenly, it disappeared.

"Go. Say goodbye to your friends. We leave at 9 tomorrow." Justin decreed before he and his friends returned to the house.

Damon struggled to his feet as he felt the spell holding him down wear off.

"Damn it, Bonnie! What the hell did you do?" He growled and grabbed her shoulders, barely resisting shaking her. "What did you do?" He whispered quietly, noticing the tears in her eyes.

"I did what I always do. I saved you." Bonnie whispered.

DBDBDB

The ride back to the boarding house was quiet. Not even Caroline or Damon said a word. Of course, that all changed as soon as they got inside. Almost instantly, pandemonium broke out.

Caroline cried, asking Bonnie why she had to exchange her life for theirs.

Damon muttered sarcastic comments.

Stefan brooded and tried to comfort Caroline.

Tyler told Damon to shut up.

Bonnie barely even noticed. She sat on the couch and stared at the fire, thinking of nothing. Eventually, she heard Damon ask why the hell she couldn't just run. She considered answering before Tommy spoke up.

"She sealed her promise. If she doesn't show up and fulfill her end of the bargain, her magic will start to turn against her, killing her slowly and painfully until she completes her part of the agreement." Tommy explained.

His words only made the panic worse. Caroline grabbed Bonnie, pulling her into a tight hug, crying the whole time.

"How many times do I have to tell you to be selfish?" She muttered into Bonnie's ear.

Bonnie silently wrapped her arms around her friend.

Damon started ordering everyone to leave. Caroline, naturally, argued. Eventually, Bonnie agreed with him and people started saying their goodbyes. She would never know exactly what was said, or by whom. The entire time since she agreed to go with Justin felt like a dream, like she was watching everything from somewhere else. Every time she moved, she felt as though she was pushing through water instead of air.

Finally, everyone was gone and it was just her and Damon. She didn't notice him at first, her eyes never leaving the fire until suddenly his face blocked her view.

"Bonnie." He whispered her name reverently. He cradled her face in his hands, crouching in front of her, his face inches from hers.

Bonnie gasped as feeling returned.

"Damon." She felt tears fill her eyes but pushed them away. An overwhelming sense of despair flooded through her followed by anger.

"Damn it, Bonnie. I told you we could take them. Why'd you have to go and sacrifice yourself?" He growled, gripping her face almost painfully.

"We could take them? Look at how that turned out, Damon." Bonnie shouted, wrenching herself from his grasp and standing up. She used his anger to force her pain and fear back. "You were all on the ground! They were about to kill you! What was I supposed to do, let them?"

"Yes!" Damon shouted, moving back into her space and grabbing her arms. Bonnie flinched at the intensity of his answer.

"Don't you get it, Bonnie? I would gladly die if it meant that you would be alright." He murmured, moving his hands back to her face.

"I couldn't let you do that." Bonnie whispered, tears spilling over once again.

"Why do you have to be the hero? Why can't you ever be selfish?" Damon whispered.

Bonnie didn't answer.

Damon laughed bitterly, releasing her face. "You know what's worse than knowing you're sacrificing yourself? That you're losing everything? For me? You won't even let me be mad at you about it. How the hell am I supposed to be mad at you on your last day here?"

"Don't be." Bonnie whispered. She couldn't bear it if he was mad at her, not when she was never going to see him again. Not when the coven would never allow her to return.

Damon stared at her before reaching over and brushing her tears away. He stepped closer, so close their bodies were pressed together, and moved his hand to the nape of her neck. Slowly, he leaned down and Bonnie let her eyes drift shut just a moment before his lips touched hers.

His lips gently caressed hers, and she responded in kind. After a few seconds, she gently licked his lips, begging for entrance. He opened instantly, and she swept her tongue in, tasting him. He tasted like bourbon, blood, and something completely unidentifiable, but the feeling she got was easily identified. She felt like she had finally come home. At that realization, a sob choked out of her.

Damon instantly pulled back, studying her tear stained face. She realized that her hands were fisted in her shirt and she tugged him impossibly closer, needing to feel him against her.

"Don't cry, Little Bird." He whispered, stroking her cheek.

"Damon…." She whispered, begging him to continue.

He bent down and captured her lips, almost instantly asking for entrance. Opening her mouth, she savored the feel of his tongue swirling around hers. He kissed her tenderly and slowly, as if he could prolong this moment and keep her with him if he just didn't rush. She kissed him back the same way, with the same hope.

Gently, he lifted her up, his hands finding their way to her ass even as she wrapped her legs around his waist. As her hands clutched at the back of his neck, keeping his head in place, he walked over to a cabinet and placed her gingerly on top.

Slowly, he pulled back from the kiss and gazed at her, keeping his arms around her waist. The weight of his stare caused her to open her eyes after a few moments of gasping for breath. Instantly, she lost herself in his eyes, in his swirling emotions. She felt them all through the bond, all of his desire, all of his pain, and all of his love. She knew what he was going to say before he opened his mouth, but even as she reached to silence him, not ready to hear his words, he spoke.

"I love you." He murmured. He kissed her then, as if he didn't want her to answer. His kisses were still slow and gentle, savoring her taste as he tried to commit it to memory, but there was also a desperate longing behind them. A passionate need for her to stay that she could not satisfy no matter how much she wanted to.

Her hands reached for his shirt buttons, and he took that as a sign to continue. He moved his mouth to her neck, gently sucking and nibbling her skin, causing her to fumble with his buttons. He smiled against her skin and moved to help her but she pushed his hands away. Slowly, she unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hands over his chest and abs and felt him tremble beneath her fingers. When she reached to push his shirt off his shoulders, he shrugged it off before reaching for hers. She lifted her arms, letting him pull it over her head before kissing his shoulder. Her mouth moved across his chest, licking and kissing, savoring the taste of him.

"Bonnie." He moaned, head tilted back.

She smiled and nipped at his shoulder, causing him to growl. Suddenly, she felt herself lifted into his arms and air rushed by them. A moment later, she felt him lay her down on silk sheets.

He hovered over her, gazing down at her. She smiled before grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him in for another kiss. Once again, their tongues swirled and dueled. He gently bit her lip, careful not to draw blood, and Bonnie moaned. Damon pulled away from her lips and started kissing down her chest, nipping and licking occasionally, eliciting more moans. Bonnie felt him reach for her bra, and she lifted her back up enough so that he could get it off. He took her nipple into his mouth and laved it with his tongue. Pleasure zapped through her, pulling another moan from her mouth. When his teeth grazed it before biting down, she moaned even louder. He switched to her other breast, repeating his actions, before moving down over her ribs and stomach, kissing her gently.

"Damon…" Bonnie moaned when he reached her jeans.

He glanced up at her and kept his eyes glued to hers as he pulled her jeans down her legs. Once they were off, he gently kissed the inside of her right thigh before pulling her lace panties off with his teeth. Bonnie had never seen anything so erotic, and she felt arousal drip between her legs.

For a long moment, Damon simply gazed at her. Finally, he bent his head down and sucked her clit into his mouth. Bonnie cried out and threw back her head. Damon slipped a finger into her, causing her to clench around him. She felt his pleasure, causing her to clench tighter. He swirled his tongue around her clit while moving his finger in and out, causing her hips to buck. When he felt she was loose enough, he slipped in a second finger. After a couple pumps, he pulled out both of his fingers, smirking at the moan of protest she released, and waited for a few seconds. When she looked at him, he stuck both of his fingers in his mouth, sucking them clean before bending down and giving her slit a lick.

Bonnie cried out and bucked her hips while grabbing his head to hold it firmly against her. Damon continued his ministrations, licking, sucking, and inserting, always with perfect timing. He kept her on the edge as long as possible, until she exploded in his mouth.

When Bonnie came down from her high, she found Damon naked and hovering above her. He leaned down to kiss her, allowing her to taste herself. He pulled back and Bonnie glanced down, trying to hide her shock. While she had never seen a man's dick before, she knew he was large by anyone's standards. Apprehension washed over her. Damon sensed this and tilted her head back towards his face.

"Bonnie…" He murmured, and that was all he had to say. Bonnie understood precisely what he meant, that if she said no he would stop right now, no matter how hard it was. Calm replaced her earlier fears and she smiled at him.

"I want you, Damon." She whispered back, completely sure of her decision.

At her words, Damon kissed her again. He slowly guided himself into her, pausing momentarily when he felt her hymen break. Bonnie felt a brief bite of pain, but it faded rapidly and she wrapped her legs around his waist, signaling him to continue. He did, gently pushing until he was all the way in. Bonnie felt some minor pain, and they both waited a few seconds before she nodded to him.

He started to thrust in and out of her slowly, kissing her and her breasts. She raised her hips, meeting his every thrust with the same insistence, needing him as deep as he could go. Bonnie finally came, Damon following only seconds later. His pleasure roared through the bond, folding into her own and taking her higher than she ever thought possible. They came down slowly, as Damon collapsed on top of Bonnie and she buried her face in his neck, gasping for air.

After a few minutes, he pulled out. Bonnie whined softly at the loss, but he just smiled and rolled over, taking her with him. He situated her so that she was on his chest, head pressed to his heart. Bonnie smiled as he pulled a blanket over them. She had never felt more peaceful or content than she did in that moment.

"I love you, Bonnie." Damon whispered, warming her heart. She drifted off to sleep, listening to his heart beat softly in her ears.

A few hours later, Bonnie awoke enough to feel something warm under her. She nuzzled her face deeper into it, only to feel a soft rumble through her body. Opening her eyes, she found Damon grinning down at her.

"Comfortable?" He asked, smirking smugly.

"Shut up." She muttered before moving to kiss him. Their lips met softly, and they kissed as fire built between them. Damon slipped a hand between them and began rubbing her clit. After a few moments, he inserted two fingers into her, scissoring to stretch her. Bonnie started kissing his neck, laving his skin with her tongue. When she felt she was ready, she squirmed off of his hand and moved down his body, kissing his chest along the way. She reached out a hand and grasped his erection, reveling in the hiss she drew from his lips. After a few pumps with her hand, he grasped her hips and guided her so that she was above it. She sank down, eyes widening at the new position. She began to move, quickly establishing a rhythm that they both enjoyed.

As she rode him, her hands darted across his chest and abs and his hands copied the movements on her. He tweaked her nipples, sending an extra shot of arousal to her center. His hips met hers, thrust for thrust, and when she tired, he gripped her hips and moved her, sending them both to completion.

Again, she fell asleep, this time lying on her side while Damon spooned her from behind.

They made love one more time that night, and when it was over he pulled her to him, lying chest to chest on their sides. She cried, sobbing into his chest while she clutched him to her and he held her close, rubbing circles on her back. He didn't whisper meaningless platitudes to her, no half-truths to comfort her. They were both to realistic for that. She didn't think he wanted her to know, but she felt his tears as he cried silently as the sun rose.

Finally, when the sun fully appeared in the sky, Bonnie pulled back and gazed up at Damon. He stared back at her, as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world. She knew that wasn't true, she had always been an ugly crier, and it made her want to start sobbing again. Forcing back her tears, she kissed him one last time, letting all of her desperation and love flow into him. He kissed her back just as fiercely, until she pulled away.

"Somno." She whispered, sending him to sleep. His head dropped onto the pillow and his arms around her loosened.

Rising from the bed, Bonnie found her clothes and hopped into the shower. After she was done, she went back into the bedroom and stared at Damon's sleeping form. She said a quick spell over him before walking out the door.

She drove to Justin's house, blinking away tears the whole time.

BDBDBD

"Damon!"

Damon awoke to his brother calling his name and shaking him by the shoulder.

"What?" He growled out before his memory of last night's events returned. "Bonnie!" He gasped shooting up in bed. "Where is she Stefan?"

"She's gone. They left three hours ago." Stefan explained, eyes meeting Damon's solemnly.

"No. She can't just be gone." Damon jumped out of bed, completely ignoring his clothes less state, and searched the room for her. "I'm going after her." He declared when he couldn't find her, grabbing his pants off the floor and throwing them on.

"Damon, you can't. They'll kill you if you step foot outside of Mystic Falls." Stefan argued, grabbing Damon in an attempt to slow him down.

"I can't just let her leave!" Damon shouted, yanking himself out of his brother's grasp. He ran downstairs and out the door, not bothering with a shirt. He ran east, hoping that that was the direction Bonnie had gone. As he passed ten miles from town, he felt a weird shift, and a few seconds later found himself approaching the west side of town. He froze and looked around him before turning and running the opposite direction. Again, he felt the strange sensation and came out of the opposite side of Mystic Falls.

"What the fuck?" He muttered, glued to his spot.

"She did a spell. None of us can leave."

Damon turned to find a crying Caroline behind him.

"She didn't want us to risk our lives to follow her." She continued, choking out a sob at the end.

Damon stared at her, eyes unseeing. Of course Bonnie didn't let them leave. She knew the moment she left he would follow, that he wouldn't stop searching for a way to free her.

He didn't remember running back to the boarding house. Stefan was there, offering him a drink. Damon accepted, throwing it down his throat.

"She left you a letter." Stefan said quietly. "It's sitting on your night stand."

Damon nodded and turned to the door, prepared to sit at the grill and drink until he couldn't even remember the name Bonnie Bennett.

"Damon!" Stefan called.

"Relax, Brother. I'm not going to kill anyone. My Little Bird wouldn't approve." Damon snapped caustically.

"You should read it. It's her way of saying goodbye."

"I don't want her to." Damon answered before running out the door.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Here's the next chapter. Just a heads up, its pretty long. Hope y'all enjoy and as always, thanks for the reviews, follows, and favourites.**

 **1 week after Bonnie leaves**

Damon slammed the grimoire shut. According to every source, every book, every person he talked too, there was no way for Bonnie to leave the Aloquoi coven. After spending the last week searching for a way, hoping to find something that could break her vow, he had nothing to show for it. Nothing except sleep deprivation. Even worse, the bond was gone. It didn't fade naturally, he just woke up and it was gone. He couldn't hear, feel, or sense her. The sound of the front door opening pulled him from his thoughts. He turned and saw Tommy entering the house.

"Tell me you found a way for me to leave this hell-hole and go after Bonnie." He groaned.

"Her spell can't be broken by another witch. She's the only one who can release you." Tommy told him.

"That's what everyone always says but there's always a loop hole. There's always a way around whatever bullshit witchy rule is in the way." Damon said exasperatedly.

"Not this time. Damon…"

"Don't." Damon ordered, turning to pick up another book.

"She's gone. I'm sorry." Tommy said before leaving.

Damon turned and threw the book he was holding against the wall. Breathing hard, he ran his hands through his hair.

"Come on, Bon. Tell me you left me a way out of this. Let me save you." He whispered.

No one answered.

DBDBDB

Caroline collapsed on her knees.

"There's no way out." She whispered.

"Caroline…" Stefan said comfortingly.

They had just finished checking the town's entire perimeter. Bonnie's spell held firm all the way around. They weren't getting out. Or at least, Caroline, Tyler, Stefan, Damon, Tommy, and Elena weren't. The spell didn't seem to have an effect on anybody else.

"Caroline, Damon and Tommy will find something. We'll get her back." Stefan dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms, stroking her back gently.

"What if they don't? We have to save her. We owe her."

"We will, Caroline." Stefan asserted.

"But what if we don't? What if there's no way to save her?" Caroline whimpered.

Stefan didn't answer, and that's when Caroline broke down. She sobbed into his arms, mourning the loss of her best friend.

 **Two weeks after Bonnie leaves**

Damon glared at Lucy Bennett.

"What do you mean you can't undo it? I thought you were supposed to be a powerful, trained witch. You can't even undo a novice witch's spell? What good are you?" He snapped at her.

"This spell isn't like anything I've ever seen. I think Bonnie designed it herself. It would take knowing the incantation to ever be able to undo it, and even then it could take years. There's simply no way." Lucy explained irritably.

"This is your cousin you're talking about. She's your family and who knows what they're doing to her! You have to help." Caroline begged tearfully.

"There has to be something." Stefan asked.

"I'm sorry. Her word has been sealed and the spell is impenetrable. There's nothing I can do to help." Lucy answered gently.

"Can you at least put a tracking spell on her? So that we know she's safe." Tyler asked from where he was holding Caroline.

"I can try." Lucy agreed hesitantly.

"What do you need?" Stefan asked.

After Stefan and Caroline brought everything Lucy had asked for, she started the spell. Damon watched, thinking about how Bonnie would've done it differently. Where Bonnie always surrounded herself with candles, Lucy used stones. Lucy's intonation was all about power, while Bonnie's had power but somehow still sounded like she was singing a love song.

Lucy opened her eyes and looked around.

"Well? Where the hell is she?" Damon demanded.

"I… I don't know. Something's blocking me." Lucy explained.

"While unblock it!" Damon shouted.

"I can't! It doesn't work that way!"

"Make it work that way!"

Lucy glared, breathing hard.

"Please." Damon added, not caring how pathetic he sounded or who heard it. "Please save her."

"I'm sorry."

 **One month after Bonnie leaves**

Damon stared into his bourbon. A month later and there was still no word on Bonnie. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Damon didn't know where else to look. They had read every grimoire, called every contact, and searched every place in town for a way out or a way to unseal her bargain. There was nothing.

Grunting, he stood up and walked out of the room and upstairs to his bedroom. He stared at his bed, memories flashing through his mind. Memories of her. Of her moaning as he thrust into her. Of her mouth on his. Of the way her eyes shone. The way she tasted. He could still smell her soft, fruity scent if he breathed deeply, despite Stefan washing his sheets.

His bourbon tumbler shattered in his hands, imbedding pieces of glass deep in his skin. He watched as his blood flowed for a few moments before the wounds healed. Clenching his fist, he glared at the bed.

"Damon."

Damon switched his glare to his younger brother.

"Caroline's going to pack up Bonnie's stuff and put it in a storage locker. She wants to know if you want to help or see if there's anything you want to hold onto." Stefan explained solemnly.

"Blondie's giving up on Bonnie so soon? Doesn't she know Bonnie would never give up on her." Damon growled bitterly.

"Damon, she's not giving up. She's finding closure."

"Closure. Is that all you can think about? Closure? What about Bonnie? She needs us! She's saved every single one of us over and over again! And what did she get out of it?" Damon shouted at Stefan.

"I know, Damon! You think I don't know? She was there because of me! It's my fault she's gone! You think I don't know that she deserved better? That she never should have sacrificed herself for me?" Stefan shouted back.

"You're right. She shouldn't have." Damon bit out before shoving past Stefan and heading for the Grill.

He plopped down on a stool and glared at Matt. Rolling his eyes at Damon's behavior, Matt reached for the best bourbon they had.

"I take it there's still no word on Bonnie." Matt asked.

"If there was, do you think I'd be drinking and staring at your ugly mug?" Damon smirked.

Matt sighed. "There's got to be something we can do."

Instead of answering, Damon threw back his drink before taking the bottle. He knew he must really look messed up when Matt didn't even roll his eyes.

Even after finishing the bottle, he still wasn't nearly drunk enough, but he flashed back to the boarding house anyway. He found Stefan sitting in the living room. Shockingly, he was brooding.

Damon rolled his eyes and moved towards his bedroom when he heard Stefan sigh. Instead of continuing towards his intended destination, he turned back towards his younger brother, cursing his older brother feelings for choosing now to reassert themselves. He leaned against the doorjamb, waiting for Stefan to talk.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I split up from Caroline, that I got captured. I'm sorry Bonnie's gone." Stefan apologized, eyes glued to the fire.

"I lied. It's not your fault." Damon said before turning to leave.

"It is. I messed up and now she's paying for it."

"Oh stop with the guilt complex." Damon rolled his eyes.

"Damon-" Stefan started before Damon interrupted.

"Stefan, nobody blames you. Hell, even I don't blame you." Damon pointed out, emphasizing the word I. Over the years, he had blamed Stefan for just about everything that went wrong in his life. As much as he might have liked to continue the pattern, he knew Stefan was only trying to protect Bonnie.

"Caroline does. She's been avoiding me ever since Bonnie left."

Damon winced slightly. "I'd give you my advice but I don't actually give advice, especially to idiots who are too busy staring into a fire to talk to their best friend." Damon said sarcastically.

Stefan chuckled drily. "Fair enough."

Damon turned to leave before Stefan calling his name pulled him back.

"It's not your fault, either. Bonnie's choices were her own and I'm pretty sure she'd hate us if she found out we were trying to take the fall for them."

As Damon was about to respond, he heard a knock on the front door. He glanced at Stefan, who shrugged, before walking over.

Opening the door, he frowned down at a woman holding her sleeping son, who appeared to be about four or five.

"I don't know what you're doing here, but we aren't exactly welcoming to wolves." He growled out, flashing his fangs.

"Please. I need your help." She begged, tears running down her face.

"Tough. This isn't dial-a-superhero." Damon snapped before starting to close the door.

"Damon." Stefan said from behind him, halting his motions.

"Or maybe it is." Damon grumbled beneath his breath as Stefan pulled the door completely open.

"What's going on?" Stefan asked in his I can fix this voice.

"A coven of witches are after my son. I was told you could help."

"Witches, huh? Fascinating. Wish we could help. Stefan?" Damon tried to pull his brother away.

"Which coven?" Stefan asked, ignoring Damon.

"I think she said they were called Aloquoi."

Damon shoved past Stefan and stood in the woman's space, almost touching her, and glared menacingly. "You're lying. Nobody escapes the Aloquoi coven."

Stefan pulled Damon back as the woman began to speak.

"I didn't escape them on my own. A couple weeks ago, a girl showed up on my doorstep in the middle of the night. She said that they were coming for my son and then she told me to come to Mystic Falls and ask the Salvatore brothers for help." She declared, glaring back at Damon through her tears.

For the first time in a month, Damon felt hope. "Who sent you? What was her name?" He asked desperately. He would've grabbed her and shook her but Stefan held him back.

"Bonnie. Her name was Bonnie."

"What did she say? What were her exact words?" Damon insisted.

"Exactly what I told you. Witches were coming and I needed to find you. Please help me." The woman begged, shifting her child.

Stefan nodded and pulled Damon out of the way. "Come in. We have extra rooms if you and your son want to stay here."

Damon growled, ready to push forward and keep interrogating her, but he realized she wasn't going to tell them anything until she felt that her son was safe.

"Thank you." She crossed the threshold.

"I'll show you to a spare room. My names Stefan and that's Damon."

"Louise. This is Jackson."

Damon prepared to follow them up the stairs but a glare from Stefan made him turn around and go back into the living room. Finally, Stefan and Louise reentered the room.

"Did Bonnie say anything else?" He asked her immediately.

"No. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. We're just really worried about her." Stefan interjected. Damon glared but he had to admit that continuing to ask questions probably wouldn't get them very far.

Louise nodded. "Are my son and I safe here?" She asked.

"Yes. Damon and I won't hurt you and neither will our friends Caroline and Tommy. The four of us are the only vampires in town so as long as you keep the fact that you're a werewolf secret, you should be fine." Stefan calmed her fears. "I'll help you get situated in town and find a job. You can stay here as long as you'd like."

Damon rolled his eyes at his brother's offer but didn't contradict it. If Bonnie had sent them, they could stay as long as they liked.

"Thanks, but I'm not actually a werewolf. Just my son. He accidentally triggered the curse about a year ago." Louise explained.

Damon froze. "How?"

"How what?" Louise's brow furrowed in confusion.

"How did your son trigger the curse?"

"He accidentally caused a car to swerve into a tree. Both the occupants were killed." Louise explained.

Damon stared at her, mouth slightly opened and eyes wide.

"He didn't mean to. It was an accident. He's a good kid." Louise rushed to add.

"I'm sure he is." Stefan assured her. "You're probably exhausted. Why don't you go to bed and we'll figure stuff out in the morning?"

Louise nodded appreciatively before going back upstairs. Stefan turned back to Damon.

"Wanna tell me what that was about?"

"Nothing." Damon smiled slightly before heading upstairs himself.

Early the next morning, Stefan left to talk to Caroline, meaning Damon had to play host to their guests. He decided to make them pancakes, figuring that all kids loved pancakes. Sure enough, as he was removing the first ones from the stove, Jackson came wobbling down the stairs.

"Hey Jackson." Damon greeted before putting a plate of pancakes on the table along with syrup.

"How do you know my name?" The kid asked, standing warily in the doorway.

"Your mom told me last night." Damon answered, staying near the stove to avoid frightening the kid.

"Oh. Are you her friend?" The kid asked, still not moving.

"I guess." Damon said after a pause. He didn't really think of Louise as his friend, but he figured that was an easier label than anything he could try to explain to a five year old.

"Why do you smell funny?"

Damon wasn't sure how to answer. Obviously, the kid was smelling his vampire scent, but he didn't know how to explain that. Fortunately, Louise walked in just then.

"Jackson, don't be rude." She scolded, picking up her son and moving towards the table.

"Sorry." The kid said to Damon.

"It's alright. You should be distrustful of people who smell like me. In fact, if you run into anyone who smells like me I want you to run away as fast as you can, alright?" Damon told him. Jackson glanced at his mother before nodding solemnly.

"Unless it's my little brother or his girlfriend." Damon added as a second thought. "Now eat up before all my hard work goes to waste."

Jackson dug in and a few minutes later asked for a second helping.

"I'm sorry. We didn't stop much on the way here so he's really hungry." Louise explained.

Damon shrugged. Honestly, the kid didn't really bother him. "He's fine. We men need our food, right kid?" He winked at Jackson.

"Yep." Jackson grinned through a mouthful of pancake.

"Jackson, manners." Louise scolded again before glancing apologetically at Damon, who shrugged before handing her a plate of pancakes for herself.

"Do you know when Stefan is going to get back?" Louise asked after she finished breakfast.

"Could be a couple hours. When he and Barbie get talking, it's hard to separate them." Damon smirked slightly.

"Drat. He offered to watch Jackson while I look for a job."

"I'll do it. I just need one favor." Damon bargained. He figured that the kid seemed pretty well behaved so far and wouldn't be too much trouble.

"Of course." Louise agreed, relieved.

"Do you know of a way to break a witch's oath once it's been sealed?"

"No, sorry. I'm human and my husband only started telling me about the supernatural right before he died." Louise explained, a faraway look in her eye.

Damon nodded, hope shattering once again.

"I'm going to head on out. You sure you can handle Jackson on your own for a couple hours?" Louise asked worriedly.

"Of course. He's what, five? How much trouble can he get into?"

Louise raised her eyebrows but left when he pushed her out the door.

An hour later, Damon realized that one five year old can make as much trouble as a family of originals. So far, Jackson had broken two lamps, destroyed the living room, dented every pot Damon owned, and flushed all the toilet paper in the house down the toilet. Currently, he was swinging upside down from a tree branch after Damon had locked them outside to prevent any more disasters.

"Damy?" The kid whined. Damon tried to conceal his wince at his new nickname. The first time Jackson had said it, Damon had told him he hated it and Jackson proceeded to shout it for three minutes straight. It was almost enough to make Damon reconsider his nicknaming habit.

"What, kid?"

"Can we play tag?"

"I don't play games." Damon answered snidely.

"Well you should. Games are fun. Maybe you wouldn't be so grouchy if you played more. Besides, tag always makes me sleepy. After playing, all I wanna do is sit and watch tv." The kid started babbling.

Damon perked up at "sleepy."

"Fine. You convinced me, kid. I'll give you a head start." He counted to ten while Jackson clambered down and ran as fast as his short legs could carry him.

After about an hour, Jackson had finally had enough. Damon took him inside and fed him a cheese sandwich, careful to not let Jackson see the jelly in the fridge. If Jackson saw that, Damon knew he wouldn't get any peace for the rest of the day.

When they finished lunch, Damon sat down with Jackson in his room since it was the only one with a television. While watching their second episode of Power Rangers, Jackson climbed up onto Damon's lap and snuggled into his chest, resting his head on Damon's shoulder.

"Damy?" He murmured sleepily.

"Yeah, Kid?"

"I love you."

Damon froze at Jackson's words as the kid fell asleep. Bonnie, Stefan, and Elena were really the only ones who could make him feel something before today and to add a bratty kid he'd known a few hours to that list disturbed him. Deciding he liked the feeling of a kid loving him, Damon ignored his discomfort and watched stupid cartoons while Jackson slept.

DBDBDB

Stefan walked up to Bonnie's house. Since Bonnie's father was gone, Caroline had taken it upon herself to store all of Bonnie's things. Stefan didn't tell her, but he knew it was also her way of keeping herself busy now that they had run out of places to search for something to help Bonnie.

"Caroline?" He called as he entered the house.

"Up here." She yelled down the stairs.

He found her sitting in the middle of several piles of clothes, staring into space.

"Hey." He said quietly, leaning against the door and folding his arms.

"It's so stupid. I can't decide what to do with her clothes. Part of me wants to donate them, since I know she'd like that, but the other part wants to save them for when she comes back, even though they'll be out of style by then. If she ever comes back." The last part was barely a whisper.

"Caroline, they're just clothes…" Stefan started, moving into the room, before Caroline cut him off.

"No, it's not just clothes. It's everything. Her whole life, right here, and I have to decide what to do with it. And for every freaking decision, I have to ask myself how much hope I have." She got up and started pacing, voice rising with each word. "Do I save her school stuff in case she comes back next month? Do I keep her clothes that won't go out of style for another year? Do I think she'll come back in that time?" she kicked over a pile of sweaters, pulling herself out of her rant.

"And what if she doesn't come back, Stefan? What if I never see my best friend again?" She started crying as she stared at the knocked over pile as if it might be able to tell her what to do.

He strode into the room, pulling her into his arms. "Shh, it's alright. She'll come back." He murmured into her hair as she buried her face in his shoulder, clinging to him for support.

Stefan rocked her back and forth until her tears subsided. They pulled back and stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Thanks." Caroline mumbled, looking away.

"Anytime. You alright?"

"I guess. It's just a lot to worry about. And I still have to make all these decisions."

"What if you just make one decision?" Stefan offered. "Anything that's irreplaceable, either because of sentimental value or magicalness you keep, everything else gets thrown away or donated."

"Magicalness isn't a real word." Caroline pointed out.

Stefan raised his eyebrow.

"Fine."

They spent the next hour or so sorting through as much of Bonnie's stuff as possible before Stefan decided they should take a break. Caroline reluctantly agreed and they headed over to the Grill.

After they ordered, Stefan turned back to Caroline. "So you want to tell me why you've been avoiding me?" After his conversation with Damon, he decided to ask a generic question instead of just jumping into what he knew her reason was.

"What? I haven't been…"

"Caroline."

"Okay, fine. I've been avoiding you. I just didn't know how to handle everything."

"Because Bonnie's gone and it's my fault." Stefan said, avoiding her gaze.

"What? No! How can you even say that? Of course it's not your fault. Bonnie's gone because of a bunch of psychopaths, not because of you or me or anyone else."

"Caroline…"

"No. You listen to me, Stefan Salvatore." Caroline ordered, grabbing his hand. "This is not your fault. You did everything in your power to save her. This is the coven's fault. Do you hear me? I've had just about enough of your guilt complex."

"Then why have you been avoiding me?" Stefan couldn't help but ask.

Caroline glanced away and started biting her lip.

"Caroline, please. I can't lose my best friend. Just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it."

"It's not anything you did. It's what I did." Caroline rushed to correct, still avoiding his gaze.

"It's not you, it's me?" Stefan couldn't help but chuckle. "We're not breaking up, are we?"

"No." Caroline giggled, finally looking at him. "I just meant…. Do you know what I did when they had you?" She asked quietly, avoiding his gaze.

Stefan instantly sobered. "You mean Amy." He stated. Damon had mentioned in passing that Caroline had helped get his location from the witch.

Caroline nodded. "I tortured her, Stefan. I took a knife and stabbed her in the shoulder. And I don't know how to move past that. Especially when I'd do the same thing all over again if it meant saving you." She whispered. Stefan saw the tears she tried to hide and got up from his seat, moving to the chair next to her. He pulled her into his arms, holding her against his chest for the second time that day.

"Caroline, I get it. You don't know how to reconcile what you did with who you are. Believe me, I of all people get it."

"So how do I do it?" She whispered.

"It takes time, but eventually you learn to recognize the parts of yourself that you wish weren't there. And then you learn how to let them go." Stefan explained.

"So I just have to wait until I don't feel so guilty about it?" Caroline pulled back to stare at him, eyes crinkled in confusion.

"No. You never stop feeling guilty, not completely. But you can't just look at all the bad things you've done in your life. If you do, the guilt will destroy you from the inside."

"Alright. I'll try." Caroline nodded, pulling away as Matt approached with their food.

After they were finished, Stefan remembered that he had promised Louise he'd help with Jackson.

"Hey, I got to go. Do you want me to help you finish packing Bonnie's stuff tomorrow?" He asked Caroline.

"Yeah, I think that'd be good." Caroline agreed.

"Good. Promise me you won't start without me." Stefan insisted. He didn't want her to have another breakdown without him there to make sure she was alright.

After Caroline agreed, he headed on home.

 **2 months after Bonnie left**

Caroline watched Tyler's retreating back. They had just broken up. Mutually. They were possibly the only people on the planet who could honestly say that. She sighed and shut her front door. It was expected, honestly. From the moment she implied that she didn't believe in him, they both knew it was over. He had only stuck around so long because he didn't want her to have to deal with a breakup right after losing Bonnie, which she appreciated. Despite knowing that they were over, he had stuck around to support her when she needed him, and she would always appreciate that.

She couldn't help but smile slightly remembering the way he had said he still wanted to be friends, once the awkwardness passed. Naturally, she had agreed. Her phone rang, pulling her out of her musings.

"Hey, Stef."

"Hey, Care. What's up?"

"Nothing much. You ready to do guilt share?"

She heard Stefan sigh at the name she had given their weekly meetings. Since they were both feeling so much guilt over what happened, she had started forcing him to talk with her once a week where they both reminded each other not to let it destroy them. It seemed to be helping them both, as he always looked a little bit lighter after their talks and she felt herself recognizing the darker parts of her.

"You know I hate it when you call it that."

"Sorry. Guiltaholics anonymous." She teased.

"Maybe I just won't show up this week and then you'll feel bad for teasing me."

"No, don't do that. I'm sorry." Caroline struggled to hold back her laughter and heard Stefan do the same.

"Meet you at the clearing in ten minutes?" Stefan asked.

"Sure." Caroline hung up, darting upstairs to grab a jacket before rushing out the door.

She grinned when she saw Stefan waiting for her in the clearing. He opened his arms and hugged her tightly.

"You alright?" She asked, not letting go of him quite yet.

"Yep. You?"

"Been better. I still think about what I did to her. How I hurt her."

"Good. You should remember so that you remember not to do it again, just don't let it consume you."

"It's about finding a balance, yeah, yeah. You could at least try to come up with a new lecture every once in a while."

"But you've already memorized this one."

"Exactly. See, I'm not learning anything new."

"Maybe it's not about learning anything new, maybe it's about getting a reminder."

"Wow. Way to get all deep and philosophical, Stef."

Stefan laughed. "Alright, your turn. Astound me with a new revelation about how I should let go of my guilt."

"You're not Atlas." Caroline answered.

Stefan stared at her for a minute before Caroline started to feel embarrassed.

"What? I read." She laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

"I know, it's just that I've never thought of it that way before."

"Are you astounded?" Caroline smirked.

"No. I am completely in awe of you, Caroline Forbes." Stefan murmured quietly, gazing into her eyes.

Caroline blushed and took a step back, avoiding his gaze. His comment pulled Tyler back to the forefront of her mind.

"What's wrong?" Stefan asked in a concerned tone.

"Tyler and I broke up."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's for the best. I knew this was coming and he just put it off so I wouldn't have to deal with that on top of everything else." Caroline explained, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Well a very wise person once told me that you can be upset about a breakup, even if it's a good thing. So let's go wallow and watch Twilight and eat a gallon of ice cream." Stefan declared, marching back towards the road.

"It was a pint!" Caroline objected, laughing at his retreating back. "And Twilight, seriously?" she asked, jogging to catch up.

"The girl chooses her vampire soulmate over her werewolf boyfriend. I thought it was appropriate." Stefan answered, turning to meet her eyes.

"Stefan…" Caroline whispered. She wasn't entirely sure what he was trying to say, much less how she was supposed to respond.

"Look, I'm not saying I want to get together right now, or be your rebound. I'm not even saying I'm in love with you. I'm just saying that I could be. And, I think I'd very much like to be. When you're ready, I'd like to give us a shot." Stefan explained.

"Okay." Caroline agreed after a few seconds consideration.

"Okay. Just ask me out whenever you're ready." Stefan said with a smile before he started walking again.

"Whenever? What if I make you wait a hundred years?" Caroline couldn't help but ask.

"Totally worth it. I'll wait as long as it takes."

Caroline didn't know what to say to that.

Surprisingly, the rest of the afternoon wasn't the slightest bit awkward. They laughed and talked all the way through the movie. Caroline had refused to watch Twilight, claiming that she had to oppose at least one cliché, so instead they wound up watching Iron Man. When the movie finished, Stefan got up to leave.

"Do you mind if I come with you? I have something I need to talk about with Damon." Caroline asked.

Stefan nodded hesitantly. "Alright, but we still have a few visitors."

Caroline couldn't help but smile. Over the past month, Bonnie had continued to send people to Mystic Falls. So far, two married werewolves and one lone wolf had shown up, and three lone vampires. Currently, it was just the latest vampire, James, and Louise and Jackson who were still at the boarding house. Everyone else moved out and settled down pretty quickly once they realized Mystic Falls was the only safe place left. Louise had offered to move, but Stefan and Damon had both insisted she stay. Stefan said he liked having a kid to help liven up the place and Damon claimed they helped keep the boredom at bay.

When they got to the house, Stefan stopped to talk to Louise and Tommy, who were in the kitchen flirting and making enchiladas, while Caroline headed up to Damon's room.

"Hey, psychopath." She greeted, barging in without bothering to knock.

"Didn't they teach you to knock at whatever half-rate preschool you went too? I could've been doing anything in here. Or anyone." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, smirking at her suggestively.

"No you couldn't. There's only one girl you're interested in." Caroline retorts, careful to avoid Bonnie's name. Even the thought of her still hits Caroline like a punch to the gut and she has to swallow before she can continue.

"Anyway, I just came by to give you this." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out Bonnie's old necklace. It's simple, just how Bonnie liked. Just a chain with a small dragon pendant. In the dragon's claws was a purple gem, almost as large as the animal holding it. The necklace had been a gift from Sheila when Bonnie was only ten. Bonnie had only worn it once, to her gram's funeral. Claimed it was too precious to risk losing. Caroline had found it when she was cleaning out Bonnie's stuff. At first she had wanted to keep it, knowing that Bonnie treasured it and wouldn't want it left in some storage locker. However, she knew that Damon had never come to look for anything of Bonnie's to hold onto, and she felt that he needed this more than she did.

Damon stared at the necklace in reverence, whether because Bonnie told him the story behind it or he simply guessed its value, Caroline didn't know. After a few seconds, he gently took it from her hands. Caroline turned to leave, her purpose for coming complete, when his voice stopped her.

"Caroline."

She paused and turned back towards him.

"I'm sorry. For everything." Damon apologized, eyes looking straight into hers.

Caroline knew that he wasn't just apologizing for Bonnie leaving or how he helped ruin all of their lives. He was saying he was sorry for everything he had done to her. She paused for a moment, considering his apology.

"I don't know if I'll ever forgive you, not completely. And I sure as hell won't ever like you. But what you did to me is in the past. I'm content to leave it there." She spun and walked out, not bothering to listen for a reply.

DBDBDB

Bonnie's father finally showed up, only two months after she disappeared. Damon sighed as he marched up to the Bennett house. In his opinion, a father who takes two months to realize his daughter is missing doesn't really deserve an explanation for where she is. However, there was no way he was going to compel Bonnie's father, so he figured they'd better have a chat. He rang the doorbell and waited.

"Hello?" Mr. Bennett opened the door, eyeing Damon curiously. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to discuss…" Damon paused. He couldn't quite make himself refer to Bonnie as this man's daughter, so he went ahead and said her name, ignoring the crumbling feeling in his chest. "Bonnie."

"What do you know about my daughter?" Rudy growled.

Damon rolled his eyes. Some father. "Look, this will be easier if you just let me in."

"Fine." Rudy stepped out of the way. Damon brushed past, gaze darting around the house he hadn't been in since Bonnie left. They walked into the living room, neither one sitting down.

"Now tell me what the hell you know about my baby girl." Rudy ordered.

"Besides you not even trying to call her in at least two months? Probably longer? Yeah, I know about that." Damon glowered, not liking the way Rudy was trying to play great father. He rolled his eyes at the outrage that appeared on Rudy's face before he began to walk towards him. "Look, Bonnie had to leave town for a while, won't be able to call or anything. When she gets back, very first thing she'll do is give you a call. Promise." Damon smirked in what he knew was a very non-comforting way, clapped the man on the shoulder, and brushed past him to leave.

"Where the hell do you think you're going? My daughter is missing and you expect me to just stand by and wait for her to call?" Rudy shouted after Damon, who sighed and turned back around.

"Cause the sudden lack of involvement in her life would be a huge loss for you." He muttered sarcastically.

"She's my daughter! I have the right to be worried about her! Who do you think you are to stand there and tell me to just trust you to get her back?" Rudy shouted, clenching his fists.

"I'm the person who's been here! I'm the one doing everything in my power to get her back! I'm the one who's in love with her!" Damon screamed in Rudy's face before stomping to the door. "And she might be your daughter, but you're the furthest thing from her father." He snapped before slamming the front door.

BDBDBD

Tyler walked into the new coffee house where Elena had started working. He got into the back of the line and watched as she took orders. When she finished with her current customer, she spotted him and waved before turning to the next person in line, smiling as she asked them what they wanted.

Three people later it was his turn.

"Hey, when do you get off?" He asked.

"Half an hour."

"Great. I'll wait around for you."

"Sounds good. Want your usual?" Elena grinned.

"Throw on a piece of coffee cake." Tyler answered, smiling back.

After he got his order, he sat down in a corner and waited. He and Elena had been hanging out lately, ever since he decided he was going to break up with Caroline, and he still found himself surprised by how well they got along.

"Hey." Elena practically fell into the seat opposite him, dropping her head onto the table in defeat.

"That bad, huh?"

"Not really, it's just been one of those days." She mumbled before sitting upright. "What about you? How are you holding up?"

"You mean am I still mad at Caroline?" Tyler asked.

Elena nodded.

"No. We were two amazing, super-hot people who tried it and it didn't work. Not much to be mad about." He said with a shrug. Honestly, he had been angry at her for not believing in him, for not seeing the good he did and could do without being a vampire.

"Wow. If it weren't for all the self-adulation, I'd almost say that was mature, Lockwood." Elena teased, smiling.

"Self-adulation? Have you been studying again? You swore you'd quit that nasty habit."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. The textbook flew off of my dresser and pinned me on the floor. A couple pencils joined in and forced my eyes open. I had no choice. I'm the victim here." Elena declared.

Tyler laughed.

"But seriously, how's everything else going?" Elena asked after they both sobered.

"The other wolves came to me today, told me they wanted me to be their alpha." Tyler sighed.

"What? Are you going to accept?" Elena asked, shocked.

"I have no idea. I mean, I've been trying to help them fit in and all, but it's not exactly my dream job. I don't even know what it would mean. Am I responsible for them? Do I have to settle arguments? And where would I even start?" Tyler rambled.

"I think you should consider it."

Tyler's eyebrows almost shot off his forehead. "What?"

"You'd be good at it. You were a great team captain, and you're already helping them assimilate. Besides, I think you've proven you have good conflict mediating skills and you know more about this town and probably supernatural stuff in general than any of them. You're a perfect fit."

"What are you talking about, I'd be terrible. I have basically no experience with any of this. I've never been part of a pack and the only one I've ever seen was pretty messed up. Where would I even start?" Tyler argued.

"Maybe asking them what they expect from a pack leader." Elena suggested.

"Fine, I'll ask. But I'm not making any promises." Tyler grumbled.

Elena grinned.

 **3 months after Bonnie leaves**

Damon walked around the edge of town, keeping watch for anything suspicious. About a week ago, there'd been a fight between the vampires and the werewolves. A new guy, Vance, had attacked one of the wolves for no reason besides age old hatred, and the incident had spiraled. Tyler, Stefan, and Caroline wound up killing Vance to send a message to everyone else that supernatural turf wars would not be going down in Mystic Falls.

It was weird, thinking of Lockwood as the new alpha and Caroline and Stefan as the new vampire leaders, but Damon wasn't complaining. He was perfectly content in his role as supernatural sheriff. Besides, the other three seemed to be in control of the situation. Probably helped that there were so few supernaturals to control. Counting the four of them and Tommy, there were only eight vampires and ten werewolves, and Damon was beginning to think there weren't any more coming. It had been several weeks since the last one had shown up.

His head shot up when he heard tires screeching and a large crash. Running towards the bend in the road where the sound came from, he found a car wrapped around a tree. He could smell the gasoline burning and hear the occupants screaming for help. Instantly, he flashed over and ripped off the door, grabbing a little girl from the backseat. He flashed away and set her a safe distance away before returning and grabbing the driver. On the other side of the car, the woman in the passenger seat was scrambling out.

"Move!" He shouted as he deposited the driver next to the child. He flashed towards the woman, grabbing her just as the car exploded. He barely had time to shove her to the ground covering her with his own body.

The fire scorched his back, burning through his favourite leather jacket. After a second of intense, burning pain, the fire faded and he felt himself begin to slowly heal. Groaning, he rolled off of the woman, careful to avoid landing on his burnt back.

"Oh my god! Are you alright?" The woman cried, carefully sitting up before checking his back. "You're healing, that's good. Here." She shoved her wrist in his face, offering a vein.

"Whitney, No!" her husband screamed, rushing forward. Damon could hear his footsteps pounding behind him. "He's a vampire!"

"He just saved our lives, Chris! I can't leave him like this!" Whitney shouted before shoving her arm at Damon again. "Take too much and I'll break every bone in your body." She murmured.

Damon nodded before sinking his teeth in. After just a couple swallows, he pulled back. It was enough to get his body healing a bit faster and already the pain was dulling.

He struggled to his feet, Whitney helping him when he almost lost his balance. Once he was steady, he turned to inspect his other two rescues. Finding them in perfect health, albeit clearly worried health, he turned to leave.

"Wait, will you at least tell us your name?" The woman called.

"Damon." He answered without turning.

"Well, Damon, if there's anything I can do to repay you for saving my family, just tell me. I'd rather not be in debt to a vampire." Chris called.

Damon hesitated before returning to the family. "Speaking of which, how did you know I was a vampire?"

"We're witches. We felt it as soon as you touched us. Besides, the speed was a bit of a giveaway." Chris explained as Whitney picked up the crying little girl, holding her to her chest to soothe her.

"You know, now that you mention it there is something you can help me with. See, there's this witch I know, self-righteous little thing, got herself into an unbreakable vow or some such nonsense. I need a way to break it." Damon smirked, eyeing the witch family.

"If you mean a sealed bargain, then that's impossible." Whitney said.

Damon rolled his eyes. He hadn't really expected it to work, but he figured it was worth a shot. "Fine, round two. She also put a spell on me, made it so I can't leave this town. I want you to undo it."

"We can look into it, but I'll want to know why she trapped you here before we make any decisions. Just because you saved us doesn't mean we should let you out." Chris explained.

"No offense, boys, but we'll have to do that in the morning. Momma needs a nap and baby isn't looking so great either." Whitney interjected.

Damon sighed, not wanting any sort of delay, but grabbed them and flashed them to the boarding house all the same.

"You can stay here. It's kinda the supernatural epicenter of the town." He explained.

Chris looked hesitant, but Whitney murmured something about not wanting to look for another place to stay this late at night and he agreed.

"Great. This way we can start talking about getting me out of here first thing in the morning." Damon grinned before showing his apprehensive house guests to a spare room.

The next morning, true to his word, Damon was up at the crack of dawn. To his surprise, Chris was already waiting for him in the library.

"And here I was thinking I'd have to wake you up to repay your debt." Damon smirked.

"Quite the collection you've got here." Chris commented, ignoring the jab.

"Yes, it's my pride and joy. Where's momma witch?" Damon asked, wanting to get down to business.

"She and Lilliana are still sleeping. Still a bit sleepy from almost dying last night." Chris retorted dryly.

Damon smirked. "Whatever. Let's get started."

"Fine. Why did the witch trap you here?"

"Straight to the point. Alright, she trapped me here because she knew that if she didn't, I would never let her go."

"Without killing her, you mean."

"I would never kill her. I just don't want her to sacrifice herself for me anymore." Damon growled, resisting the urge to rip Chris' head off his shoulders. That wouldn't get him any closer to finding Bonnie.

Chris studied him for a minute before agreeing to help. "Alright. Tell me everything you know about her spell."

Just then, Stefan came barging into the library. "Morning Damon."

"Morning, Brother. How's Mystic Falls' newest power couple?" Damon smirked.

Stefan sighed and rolled his eyes. "For the thousandth time, we're not dating. Who's the new guy?" He asked, nodding at Chris.

"Chris. He and his wife are going to undo Bonnie's trapping spell for me."

"Bonnie? As in Bonnie Bennett?" Chris interjected, stepping closer to Damon.

"Yep, that's the one. Why?" Damon asked suspiciously.

"Bonnie Bennett is the reason we're here."

"Yeah, yeah. Aloquoi coven was coming after you and she told you Mystic Falls was safe. We've heard this before, let's get down to the spell." Damon waved his hand at Chris, gesturing for him to continue.

"What? No. She's the one who tried to kill us." Chris protested.

Damon froze.

"What?" Stefan asked.

"She was leading the Aloquoi coven when they burned our house down with us still in it. The only reason we escaped was because we were lucky enough to be awake. We almost ran them over, which surprised them enough that they didn't think to use magic to stop us until it was too late." Chris explained.

"Then you must have done something to deserve it. Bonnie would never attack innocent people." Damon snapped, preparing to fight the warlock.

"We didn't do a damn thing, and even if you believe that we did, do you really think our five year old daughter did? Bonnie almost killed her." Chris shouted. Magic crackled through the air as he clenched his fists.

"Enough! Both of you calm down!" Stefan stepped in between them. "Now, we don't know for sure Bonnie was trying to kill you. For all we know, she might have been unable to stop them and had to play along. Maybe she tried to stall them as you escaped." Stefan argued while Chris and Damon fumed at each other.

"Or maybe she's a power-obsessed bitch!" Chris growled.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Damon snarled back.

"Hey! Cool it!" Stefan shouted. "This is the only place that's safe from the Aloquoi coven, so the two of you might as well learn to get along."

"Fine. I'll help you break the spell, but only because you saved my family." Chris grunted.

Damon glowered for another couple seconds before Stefan shoved him. "Fine." He grumbled before stalking out of the room. He knew Stefan would fill the warlock in on the spell's details without ripping his head off, something he couldn't do.

DBDBDB

Elena walked into the Lockwood mansion, or werewolf central as Caroline now called it. Ever since Tyler had accepted the position of alpha, the werewolves congregated around the mansion. All of them lived elsewhere, but they were always at Tyler's anyway, something about being part of the pack.

"Tyler?" she called, hoping he was home and not any of his pack members. They didn't particularly like her. Tyler said it was because she was human, but they seemed to get along with other humans just fine. However, Elena hadn't pushed.

When Tyler didn't answer, she wandered further into the house, hoping to find him. Instead, he found her as he came down the stairs, the werewolf couple Jeanette and Alcario following.

"No, I am not getting in the middle of this." He told them, irritation seeping into his tone.

"Tyler, part of being alpha means settling disputes. It's your job." Alcario insisted.

"No. I am not settling an argument between you and your wife. Just hire a damn marriage counselor." Tyler snapped.

Alcario looked like he was about to argue before he glanced at Elena. "We'll talk about this later." He grumbled before walking out the door with Jeanette.

"I'll give you some numbers for counselors." Tyler called after him before turning to Elena.

"Hey, when did you get here?" He asked.

"Couple minutes ago. Do they seriously want you to work through their marriage issues with them?" She asked, ignoring the feeling she got whenever they glared at her.

"Can you believe it? It's like I'm supposed to take care of all their problems. It's completely ridiculous. Next they'll be asking for advice on sex."

"Which you'd be all too happy to give." Elena pointed out.

Tyler laughed before leading her into the kitchen where he poured her a glass of orange juice.

"Why don't they like me? And don't give me that human bullshit. They don't have a problem with anyone else in town." Elena had tried to ignore it, but their continued dislike of her was beginning to grate.

Tyler sighed before answering. "They wanted me to find a werewolf mate, something about alphas needing partners. I told them no and when they asked why, I said that I already knew who my soulmate was. I might have accidentally mentioned your name."

Elena's eyes widened in shock. Tyler noticed and began to quickly explain.

"Not that I'm saying that you're my mate or anything. Not that you wouldn't be a wonderful mate, I just didn't want to have to mate for life at this point. I mean, I'm still in high school." He rambled before Elena suddenly grabbed his neck, pulling his face towards hers.

Her lips met his, silencing his next words. For a split second, he froze. Elena almost let him go, ready to apologize, when he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer, kissing her ferociously.

When they finally broke apart, gasping for breath, he stared at her. His stare was intense and unwavering, and Elena began to feel self-conscious. When she tried to pull away, he held her even closer to him.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. Things are already hard enough for you and your pack." Elena rambled.

"Look, my pack has certain prejudices. If they can't handle the fact that I want you, that's their problem. So screw them." He interrupted her.

"I'd rather screw you." Elena retorted saucily.

Tyler grinned and Elena was suddenly pressed against the counter as he started kissing her again.

 **4 months after Bonnie leaves**

Caroline marched into the Salvatore boarding house and up into Stefan's room.

"Jian opened up a Frisbee golf course and we're going. Afterwards, you can take me out for ice cream." She declared, twisting her daylight ring nervously.

Stefan glanced up at her. "Are you asking me out? Cause I think that usually involves actual asking."

"Did you miss the please at the end? I could've sworn I tacked it on there." Caroline answered.

"Hmmm." Stefan nodded, pursing his lips to avoid smiling.

"Shut up. Now come on." Caroline grinned.

Stefan grinned back before grabbing his keys off the dresser. He wound his fingers around hers as they walked out to his car.

When they got to the course, Stefan started trying to teach Caroline how to throw a Frisbee. Originally, he was only supposed to teach her how to aim one, but when she showed him her technique, he started correcting that too.

"Use your wrist." Stefan directed.

Caroline tried again, only to have her Frisbee land comically short of the basket.

"More wrist." He ordered again, laughing.

Caroline sighed in frustration before taking another shot. The Frisbee flew out of her hand, soaring high above the tree tops before disappearing from view. She stared after it before she heard Stefan start chuckling behind her.

"Maybe a little less wrist next time." He laughed.

Caroline glowered for a second before dissolving into laughter.

"Alright, here." He handed her his Frisbee and she turned back to the basket to try again.

After their date was over, he drove her home and walked her to her front door, all nice and proper.

"Are you going to kiss me goodnight?" She asked when he paused on her doorstep.

"After the first date? Ms. Forbes, for shame." Stefan teased, smiling at her giggle.

"I'd say you earned it. You were an excellent tutor." She smiled back.

He smiled before bending towards her. It was nothing more than a peck, just a brief brush of lips with a slight nibble on the end, but Caroline thought it was perfect. Butterflies danced through her stomach as he pulled away and started walking towards his car.

"That's it?" She called after him.

"For now."

"Is this your way of bribing me into a second date?"

Suddenly, Stefan flashed in front of her, pushing her up against her front door.

"No, Ms. Forbes. This is." He whispered before swooping down to capture her lips with his.

 **6 months after Bonnie leaves**

Damon walked back into the boarding house after a long night of patrolling Mystic Falls. He winced when he overheard Stefan and Caroline going at it in Stefan's bedroom.

"You guys do realize children live here, right?" He called through the door on his way past. That wasn't technically true since really only Jackson lived there. Besides, it was a full moon so Jackson was out shifting with Tyler and the rest of the pack, the main reason for Damon's late night. Of course, that also meant Louise and Tommy finally had a night to themselves where they didn't have to worry about her son barging in on them, so Tommy was no help. Hence, Damon was exhausted from being pretty much the only person keeping an eye on the werewolves that night.

He grunted as he collapsed into his bed. He would only be able to sleep for about an hour before he had to go meet Whitney to discuss breaking Bonnie's spell. Despite working on it for several months, they still weren't any closer to unravelling it.

He sighed and closed his eyes. Honestly, if it weren't for Bonnie being gone, his life would be pretty much perfect. He and Stefan were on good terms for the first time in decades. Stefan had finally found happiness, even if it was with Caroline. Besides Stefan, Damon also had friends. Actual friends who he liked. That was weird. He also finally found a purpose in protecting Mystic Falls from the supernatural and the supernatural from Mystic Falls and each other. He even had two kids, Lilliana and Jackson, who, for god only knows what reason, looked up to him. Granted, they were annoying as hell, especially when they called him "Damy", but he could admit in the privacy of his own thoughts that he actually liked them.

Bonnie was the only thing missing from his life, and he was getting more and more worried. She had stopped sending people to Mystic Falls. Before, she sent anyone who she thought was innocent in the hopes that they would be safe. Now, however, nobody came. The change cause Damon to worry about what she was going through, what they were turning her into.

He glanced at his nightstand where her letter sat, still unopened after all these months. Despite knowing that it wouldn't tell him where she was currently, he reached over and grabbed the piece of paper. He closed his eyes for a second before opening them and reading her handwriting.

 _Dear Damon,_

 _I can't believe you waited 5 months before opening this (at least that's how long I'm assuming you waited). This was meant to give you a goodbye, you idiot. Oh well. At least since you didn't read it for forever I don't have to leave you with a mission statement like "Be happy" or "live your life and fix you and Stefan's relationship" or "Don't look for me" or whatever. But please tell me that you are and that you did and that you won't._

 _Speaking of which, I'm sorry about trapping you. I know you're still mad at me and you have every right to be. I didn't want to be just another person who abandons you or makes you feel unworthy. Because you are worthy, Damon. Whatever comes, saving you was worth it._

 _There's something else you need to know and you're probably going to be mad at me for telling you this through a letter, but you deserve to know. We're soulmates, Damon. I know. I was shocked too. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you before I left. I just wasn't sure I'd be able to leave if I did. Also, I'm sorry for knocking you out and not saying a proper goodbye. You deserved better, but I knew that I wouldn't ever leave if I did._

 _Anyway, I guess this is the part where I'm supposed to tell you that I love you, but I'm still holding out hope that I'll get to say that to your face for the first time. But if I don't, know that I do, which sounds really weird now that I've written it, but this is pen, so…_

 _Goodbye Damon._

 _Love,_

 _Bonnie_


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Sorry it took me so long. If I had realized I wouldn't be able to update, I would have tried to give y'all a heads up. Unfortunately, finals, family, the holidays, and computer troubles all got in the way. I wish I could say that I'll do better, but unfortunately I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again. I'll do my absolute best to get something out in January. In the meantime, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you all have wonderful holidays.**

 **The day Bonnie leaves**

Bonnie pulled up to the witches' house, barely meeting her 9am deadline. She shifted into park and turned off the car before resting her forehead against the wheel, clenching her fists to keep herself from turning the car back on and leaving. After a few seconds of forcing her tears back, she lifted her head to see Justin watching her from the porch. He beckoned her over and she slowly opened her door. Her time was up.

She walked towards him, back straight and chin up. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, glaring up at him.

"I was almost worried that I'd have to come and find you." Justin commented.

"I'm here. Let's just leave." Bonnie retorted.

"For someone who spent all her time and energy on trying to stay here, you're certainly in a rush to leave."

Bonnie gritted her teeth, refusing to answer.

Justin chuckled before bending down to pick up a duffle bag at his feet. "I'm driving." He marched down the stairs, stopping right in front of her, waiting for her to hand him the keys.

"What? You don't have your own car?" Bonnie muttered sarcastically, placing her keys in his open hand.

"We brought two, but I sent everyone else ahead in them to warn the coven. Figured that would give us a chance to talk." He explained, throwing his bag in the trunk before climbing into the driver's side.

Bonnie nodded. Honestly, she hadn't even noticed that he was the only one waiting for her, but not having to deal with another four witches in addition to Justin would be nice. On the other hand, riding in the car alone with Justin didn't sound fun either.

She slid into the passenger seat and shut her door. Justin quickly backed into the street and drove out of Mystic Falls.

"I notice you didn't pack anything." Justin commented. When she didn't reply, he nodded and continued. "We can pick up some clothes on the way. Once you get settled, I'm sure some of the other girls would love to take you shopping."

Bonnie tensed. She didn't like the sound of settling in or shopping with other girls, making friends. It was just one more reminder of what her life was now.

"Silent treatment? Fine. I was going to tell you what to expect, but if that's how you want to play it, we can ride in silence."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. She knew enough egomaniacs to know that if they wanted to talk, response wasn't really necessary. Apparently, Justin was no different. Less than five minutes later, he turned towards her again.

"Here. Put this on." He ordered, pulling a ring out of his jacket pocket and throwing it in her lap. Bonnie picked it up and looked it over. It was a thin, gold band with the words _The Guardian_ carved in.

"That's your coven ring. We all have one. Has our title on it. You're The Guardian, thanks to the prophecy, but the rest of us pick them up according to our personalities, jobs, or our leader picks one for us. I'm The Collector, since I recruit people. Also, I'm a bit of a hoarder."

"The Collector? Bit serial killer, don't you think?" Bonnie commented drily.

"Ah. She finally speaks. Now put your ring on. You're one of us now."

After glaring at him for a moment, Bonnie slipped the ring on her right ring finger. She gasped as she was overwhelmed with the feeling that something was missing, she just couldn't quite tell what. Panicking, she began to try to twist the ring of her finger.

"Don't bother. It won't come off until we decide you're ready to reconnect with your powers." Justin remarked, calm tone only adding to Bonnie's panic.

"What do you mean 'reconnect with my powers'? You disabled my magic? Undo it! I need my magic!" Bonnie shouted, yanking harder on the ring. Her breathing shortened as she struggled to reach for her magic, trying to disable the charm or spell. Nothing was working.

"Relax. It's standard training protocol. Of course, normally we start training before your powers emerge, so binding them is unnecessary, but you're special."

"Why? I thought you wanted me for my magic?" Bonnie growled, still searching for her magic. She had gotten used to its constant presence and without she couldn't help but feel incomplete.

"We do. We just like for our members to be able to defend themselves beyond magic. Besides, the stronger you are physically, mentally, and emotionally, the stronger your magic will be. We don't want to exhaust you or drain your powers. We're just trying to help." Justin placated.

"And just how strong mentally and emotionally do you think I would be if you killed all of my friends?" Bonnie snapped.

Justin shrugged. "We were just going to kill the wolf and vampires. No humans were going to be harmed."

"Oh. Just my friends that you don't like. That's alright then." Bonnie muttered sarcastically.

Justin glared at her. "They're not meant to be here. They're killers. We defend humans from them. I'm not going to apologize for that. You'll see. Believe it or not, Bonnie, we're actually the good guys."

"If you don't want my first act when I get my magic back to be killing you, I suggest you shut up about my friends." Bonnie murmured darkly.

Justin smiled. "Fair enough."

Bonnie turned and looked out the window before reaching for Damon through the bond.

"I can't feel him." She gasped. "Why can't I feel him?" She whispered, searching for him again.

"Feel who?" Justin asked, glancing at her.

"Damon. Why can't I feel him? What did you do?" She growled.

"The vampire? Why the hell would you be able to… You bonded with him?" Justin shouted, slamming on the brakes.

Bonnie grunted as she flew forward and her seatbelt dug into her stomach.

"You bonded with a vampire? What the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea the repercussions of that?"

"Telepathic communication, sensing each other's emotions, sensing each other's locations." Bonnie listed.

"It forms an emotional bond." Justin barked.

"Yeah, got that. Hence the 'sensing each other's emotions'." Bonnie muttered.

"No. Not just sensing each other's emotions. When a vampire bonds with a human, that's the extent of it, but with witches it goes deeper. Your emotions are connected to your magic. His are connected to his vampirism." Justin ranted.

"So part of my magic is now bound to him?" Bonnie whispered.

"Basically, as long as you both have control over your instincts, you're both more powerful. The problem comes in when one of you loses it. When you overexert yourself or use dark magic or he goes to long without feeding or binges, the other loses control. You're overcome with the every dark instinct that has ever inhabited witches. You need to use dark magic and he needs to feed. Neither one of you will be able to control it." Justin explained gravely.

"So if neither of us goes dark, we'll be fine?" Bonnie asked.

"Supposedly. There's only ever been one other witch stupid enough to actually bond with a vampire, so we're covering entirely new territory here. Hopefully, blocking your magic will also block your connection. We can deal with this once we get back." Justin seemed to be talking more to himself than to her at this point. He nodded to himself before resuming driving.

"So where are we going?" Bonnie asked.

"Where do you think? New York City."

 **DBDBDB**

A couple hours after night fell, Justin pulled up to a large apartment complex on the outskirts of NYC. Bonnie barely had time to glance around before Justin pulled her through the front door, but she had enough time to notice no security guards. Doubtless, wards were set up to prevent anyone from entering if they weren't part of the coven. She was quickly taken to the penthouse and Justin knocked on the door.

"Come in." Bonnie heard a melodic voice command.

Justin opened the door and gestured for Bonnie to enter. The room was a stately office. Bookcases filled with what appeared to be grimoires lined the walls. Leather couches and chairs were scattered around the room with two facing a large oaken desk. Behind the desk sat a middle aged woman who inspected Bonnie carefully.

"Hello, Bonnie." She said. "I hope your trip was well."

"Well if you ignore the threatening of my friends and emotional manipulation, it was great."

"Yes. We aren't usually so… shady. Most witches understand that our place is fighting vampires, not by their side."

"I'm not going to defend my choices to a genocidal maniac." Bonnie snapped.

The woman laughed. "You have fire. You'll do well here."

"My main goal in life."

"If you can learn to curb your tongue." The woman stood up and walked around the desk, approaching Bonnie. "I'm Phoebe. It's an honor to meet you." She introduced herself, holding out her hand. Bonnie stared at it for a moment before glancing at Phoebe's face. Phoebe's smile became strained. "I see we'll have to teach you manners as well as magic."

"Phoebe, we have another problem." Justin interrupted.

Phoebe turned to look at him.

"She bonded to a vampire."

Phoebe froze for several seconds and Bonnie could feel the entire atmosphere change. It was as if a switch went off. The room felt ten degrees cooler and the air almost crackled with electricity.

"Your job was to convince her to join us. Protect the Guardian. The prophesied one. And you let her bond with the very ones we're seeking to kill? A bloodsucker? Was the assignment to difficult for you? Were my instructions unclear? Retrieve and protect. Where did you get confused?" Phoebe asked, stalking towards Justin. Bonnie thought she resembled a shark circling her prey. Justin stepped back before standing his ground.

"I wanted her to come willingly. I thought that perhaps if Amy approached her, she could convince her to join us. I didn't want to use force unless absolutely necessary." He defended.

"And your hesitation cost us her very soul!" Phoebe declared.

"I am sorry, Phoebe. Perhaps we can find a way to reverse the bond." Justin suggested meekly, bowing his head in deference.

"Perhaps. Get your best researchers on the job."

Justin bowed before turning to leave.

"And Justin?" Phoebe called.

"Yes?"

"See to it that you remain in solitary for the next week. Or until we find a cure. Whichever comes first."

Justin nodded before exiting the room.

"I am sorry you had to see that, my dear." Phoebe murmured softly, reaching for Bonnie's hand. "Good. He already gave you your ring. That should block the bond until we remove the ward blocking your magic."

"And how long will that be?" Bonnie asked respectfully. After watching Justin turn into a sniveling child at Phoebe's anger, she suddenly found a new sense of self-preservation.

"A few weeks, maybe a month. You already appear to be in fairly decent physical shape, so training in that arena should be minimal. I don't suppose you have a strong background in the history of magic?"

Bonnie shook her head.

"You will be given an intensive course in that and once you pass our test, we will return your magic and begin working on your magical abilities in conjuncture with your self-defense. We can probably have you out in the field in under a month."

Bonnie winced. In less than a month's time, she'd be expected to kill people.

"Now, I believe you've already met Amy. She'll be waiting outside to show you to your room." Phoebe turned and walked back to her desk, clearly expecting Bonnie to show herself out.

Bonnie quickly ducked out the door, leaning against it and sighing in relief.

"You know, I do have better things to do than wait around for you." An irritated voice snapped.

Bonnie's eyes shot open and she saw Amy leaning against the wall across the hall from her.

"Are you coming or what?" Amy muttered as she walked towards the elevators.

Bonnie nodded and followed. She wasn't entirely sure what to say, especially after what happened to Amy after the last time they spoke.

"I almost feel sorry for you. My mother can be quite intense, but I think she was still far more welcoming than your friends were to me." Amy growled.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Although, you did help kidnap one of my friends, so I suppose we're even."

Amy froze and spun to face Bonnie. "Does this look like we're even to you?" She growled under her breath, pulling the collar of her shirt down to reveal a brutal scar on her shoulder. "This is what your friends did to me. All in the name of protecting a ripper. A serial killer. We didn't even hurt him. All we did was look into his mind to see what would be the easiest way to get you to join us and check what charms you put on him so we could remove them. That's it! And you think we're even? We will never be even. Someday, everyone in the coven will recognize that you have sided with our enemies, and prophecy or no prophecy, I will claim my rightful place as my mother's successor." Amy turned and stabbed the button for the elevator so hard, Bonnie was surprised it didn't break under the pressure.

Bonnie remained silent for the rest of the trip down to her room. It was on the 11th floor, two floors below the penthouse.

"You'll stay here. Justin and his children live here. They'll keep an eye on you." Amy said shortly before turning and leaving before Bonnie could ask any questions. Not that she would.

Bonnie inspected the apartment. There were three bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen and a living room. Bonnie wasn't entirely sure what room was hers or what she was supposed to be doing. Eventually, she grabbed a yogurt out of the fridge, than fell asleep on the couch.

She was awakened sometime later to find a young woman shaking her awake. She shot up, sitting away from the stranger.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I just wanted to introduce myself and my brother and show you which room you can sleep in. I'm Bri and that's Noah, my twin brother." Bri gestured behind her and Bonnie finally noticed another person in the room. The twins were both gorgeous, with black hair and beautiful, brown almond eyes. Their resemblance to Justin was pronounced enough that even without Amy's indicating they were his children, she could have guessed.

"Anyway, you can sleep in my room. Fathers in solitary, so I'll sleep in his room for the next few nights. Give you some privacy to adjust. Have you eaten?"

Bonnie nodded.

"Good. Do you have any extra clothes or pjs?"

"No. I didn't have time to pack and Justin forgot to stop for shopping." Bonnie answered.

"That's fine. You can borrow my stuff until we get a chance to pick something up for you. We're about the same size. We should be able to go shopping as soon as you finish your physical training. Now, you're probably exhausted." Bri helped Bonnie up from the couch. Sure enough, they were almost the exact same height.

Bri led Bonnie into one of the rooms she explored earlier, this one with two full sized beds. Bonnie was directed to the bed closer to the window and then shown the bathroom and given sweats and a tank top. After Bri informed her she would be showing her around and too her lessons the next day, Bonnie collapsed on the bed, falling asleep almost instantaneously.

Morning came far too early. Bri woke Bonnie and rushed her through showering and breakfast. She also loaned Bonnie a sports bra, tank top, and athletic shorts and shoes, all of which were just a little tight. Bri then led her downstairs to the basement where there was a large gym. Besides the typical workout machines, there was also a fully equipped dojo with a boxing ring, punching bags, and weapons including knives, stakes, nunchucks, and a huge collection of weapons Bonnie couldn't even name.

"What, no guns?" She muttered sarcastically.

"We have a shooting range about ten miles out of the city for guns and archery." Bri explained.

"You're late." Noah snapped walking up to Bonnie and Bri.

"Sorry, I wanted to let her sleep as late as possible." Bri explained.

Noah turned to Bonnie. "Don't let it happen again. You get here at 6:30. Sharp." He directed.

"Believe me, being here precisely on time will be my first priority from now on." Bonnie muttered sarcastically.

Noah smirked. "So what can you do?"

"I'm a cheerleader. I can do all the regular flips and tumbles." Bonnie said with a shrug.

"Good. That should help with your fighting technique. Let's start with some warm up."

For the next four hours, Noah and Bri put Bonnie through the wringer. They tested her reflexes, endurance, speed, strength, and balance. Once they decided her physical level, they immediately began to teach her the beginnings of self-defense. Her cheerleading turned out to be a huge help, especially with agility and balance. When lunch time finally rolled around, Bonnie was exhausted. Training with Noah and Bri made Caroline's cheer practice look like a walk in the park.

Lunch consisted of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. After eating, Bri and Noah were supposed to start teaching her the history of magic and witches and magical theory. However, Bri decided that it was more important to begin teaching her about their culture.

"Amy's mother, Phoebe, has been our leader for the past two decades after her own mother died. Our father is the right hand man, and we were supposed to be Amy's before you showed up. Now, theoretically, Amy will by your right hand when you become our leader after Phoebe dies." Noah explained.

"Wait, I'm supposed to become your leader? Why? All I've said since I found out about you is how much I hate everything you all stand for." Bonnie pointed out.

"Eventually you'll see things our way. At least that's what Phoebe thinks. Amy doesn't. She thinks we've misinterpreted the prophecy, which is technically possible. Legend has it that the prophecy was made by Morgan le Fey, but she never wrote it down, so all we have is word of mouth. Anyway, Amy thinks that you're not supposed to lead us in our final push against the weres and vamps. Instead, you coming is either a sign or you will somehow usher in our final push. I think Amy believes that you will convince some of our coven to your way of thinking and that will reignite the fire in everyone else." Bri rambled.

"What do the two of you think?" Bonnie asked after a moment.

Noah and Bri exchanged looks. "We'll help prepare you for leadership. Beyond that, it doesn't matter what we think." Noah muttered darkly.

"It matters to me. I'd rather know that the two of you won't kill me in my sleep so that your bff can be queen." Bonnie pointed out.

"We're not going to kill you. We don't harm innocents." Bri defended.

"That's not what I saw in the dream you all sent me. There were perfectly innocent werewolves who never harmed anyone that you lot killed. Children." Bonnie growled.

"That was different. They either were killers or would become killers. It's our job to protect humans, people who can't defend themselves from the supernatural. We can't just let werewolves and vampires walk around killing people." Bri argued.

"People who can't defend themselves? Children can't defend themselves. They need to be protected. You can't just run around killing whoever you think might eventually at some point possibly kill someone. That isn't justice. That isn't protecting the innocent. That's murder." Bonnie shouted.

"Enough!" Noah shouted. Bonnie and Bri spun to look at him. "Enough. This isn't about arguing over morality. We're here to teach you magic. If you want to oppose our practices, speak with Phoebe after your lesson."

 **2 weeks after Bonnie leaves**

Bonnie sighed as the hot water soothed her sore muscles and bruises. Even after two weeks of continuous training, Bri and Noah still found new ways to work her. Her fighting abilities had improved significantly, but she still got beat up more times than she could count. At least she finally had her powers back, so she could heal the worst of the bruises. Along with healing, her powers also brought her freedom. When she and Bri went shopping last week, Bonnie paid careful attention to how Bri spelled her way through the wards. Since she memorized the spell, Bonnie could now leave at will, though she had only tried it once to make sure it worked.

The silence permeating the apartment drew Bonnie out of her thoughts. Now that Justin had returned from solitary, which was apparently rooms in the basement that people in trouble with Phoebe slept alone in combined with heavy restrictions on magic, the apartment was usually filled with the sounds of the family talking. Between Justin and Bri, Bonnie hadn't had a moment of peace, so the sudden silence was strange.

Leaving the shower on, Bonnie ducked out and slipped on a robe before slipping out of the bathroom. She walked slowly down the hallway, stopping at the corner to the living room. From her vantage point, she could overhear Justin speaking.

"…recently turned. You two will go and finish him. His mother is human, so you can leave her be. Here's the address. Go tomorrow night." Justin instructed.

Bonnie leaned out of the hallway and caught a glimpse of the pink sticky note Justin handed Noah. She then darted around the corner and back into the bathroom, whispering a spell to clean up the water she dripped on the hardwood floors. When she exited the bathroom a few minutes later and entered her and Bri's room, she was dressed for bed.

"Hey, you ready to turn in?" Bri asked.

"Yep." Bonnie nodded, climbing into bed before Bri turned out the light.

A few hours later, Bonnie decided to make her move. Bri had been asleep for a couple hours, and Noah and Justin had been quiet. She got up, grabbing a pair of running shoes and a jacket before slipping out the door. She set the shoes and jacket down in the living room before slowly opening Noah's door. It creaked, and she froze, watching the bed carefully. Noah stirred before settling back into sleep. Bonnie sighed and moved to his desk. She glanced over it, but couldn't see the note. Turning, she inspected his cork board, nightstand, and bookcase, but there was no sign of it. Growing frantic, she began to flip through papers and books, hoping he had tried to hide it. Just as she was about to give up, she saw his hoodie hanging over his desk chair. Reaching into the pocket, she pulled out the pink note.

Bonnie quickly memorized the address before replacing the note and leaving. In the living room, she put on her jacket and shoes before walking to the window above the fire escape. She recited the spell to remove the wards before ducking out. Once on the fire escape, she closed the window and replaced the wards.

The fire escape was noisy and creaked with every step Bonnie took. She froze after every creak, straining to hear if anyone was coming after her. When she finally made it to the bottom, she had so much adrenaline in her system she was shaking. Barely able to type, she put the address from the note into the map app on her phone. Bri had agreed to buy Bonnie a smart phone on the condition that she didn't use it to contact anyone from her old life.

The address was an old, run-down apartment complex about half an hour away by car. Bonnie jogged up the block and around the corner to a busier street, where she hailed a cab.

When she finally arrived, she told the driver to wait for her. She ran up to the door to the complex, which was luckily unlocked. Not terribly secure, but it worked in Bonnie's favor. She sprinted up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Hello?" A voice came from inside the apartment.

"Hello? My name is Bonnie. I need to talk to you." Bonnie called.

"It's the middle of the night! Why should I believe you?"

"Because I know what he is!" Bonnie called.

The door opened after a few seconds. "What?" The woman whispered.

"Your son or brother or husband. Someone recently turned. Into a werewolf." Bonnie whispered, hoping to convince the woman to let her in.

The woman opened the door and allowed Bonnie to duck into the apartment. The apartment was clean, despite being sparse and run down.

"How do you know about that?"

Bonnie held out her hand and created a flame above her palm. "My name is Bonnie Bennett, and I'm a witch. I'm here to save you." She explained.

"From what?"

"Listen, I don't know how much time I have, so I need you to trust me. There's a coven of witches, the Aloquoi, they're coming for someone who lives here. A werewolf who turned recently."

"My son, Jackson. He caused an accident. He didn't mean to, it's not his fault, why are they coming for him?" The woman panicked.

"Because they don't care that it's not his fault, but I do. You need to leave. Go to Mystic Falls, Virginia. Find the Salvatore brothers. They'll explain the rest. Please. You have to trust me." Bonnie pled.

"Alright. Mystic Falls, Virginia, Salvatores."

"Mommy!" A voice called behind Bonnie. She turned and froze in shock. It was the little boy from her nightmare she had weeks ago. The one who caused an accident. She turned back to the woman.

"Good luck. Leave tonight, but take a roundabout route. If they find out you left, they might suspect that you're heading that way." Bonnie instructed while the woman picked up her son.

The woman nodded. Bonnie walked quickly towards the door.

"Wait." The woman called. Bonnie paused, hand on the door handle.

"Thank you."

Bonnie nodded before leaving.

Half an hour later, Bonnie was back at the Aloquoi coven compound. She reached for the ladder, preparing to climb back to her window when a voice stopped her.

"I told my mother you were trouble. Looks like I was right."

Bonnie spun around and found Amy glaring at her. She hadn't seen Amy since her first night here. Perhaps Amy had been avoiding her, but it probably wouldn't have mattered. Bonnie had spent all of her time with Bri, Noah, and Justin, training in every imaginable way to kill vampires and werewolves.

"Yeah, you caught me. I snuck out. I'm the devil incarnate. Cart me off to Gitmo." Bonnie muttered sarcastically.

"But you didn't just sneak out, did you? You ran to the wolf. You warned him. When Noah and Bri go to finish him off, he won't be there, will he? Because you sent him running. My mother is going to love this." Amy grinned in triumph.

"Wait. Please. He was just a kid. It wasn't his fault. I had a vision about him. He accidentally caused a car to swerve off the road. It's not his fault. He's five years old. He doesn't deserve to die. Not for this." Bonnie argued.

"And what about the people he'll kill every time he turns? Do they deserve it? He has to die. It's the only way to protect everyone." Amy retorted.

"No. My friend, Tyler. He can help. He can teach the kid how to control it. Please. Just don't tell anyone." Bonnie begged.

"No."

"Wait. Name your price. Give them a 24 hour head start. That's all I ask. Then you can turn me in. Just give them a chance. Please."

"There's nothing you have that I want. Well, except being my mother's successor, but that will change as soon as I reveal the truth." Amy turned to walk into the complex.

Bonnie lunged forward and caught Amy's hand and began shoving all of her visions and dreams about the Aloquoi coven into Amy's head. Bonnie forced Amy to see everything the coven showed her when they trapped her in her dreams. She showed Amy the vision she had of Jackson scared out of his mind the first time he turned. She showed Amy all the lives ruined by the coven, digging deep into her own memories.

"No!" Amy gasped, yanking her hand out of Bonnie's grasp and falling to the ground.

"Please. He doesn't deserve to die." Bonnie whispered.

Amy stared at her in horror for a few seconds before shooting to her feet and running back inside before Bonnie could stop her.

Bonnie stood in front of the compound, staring after Amy. She waited for a few minutes for anyone to come out and arrest her, but no one came. Eventually, she climbed back up the fire escape and slipped back into her bedroom. She lay on her bed, tossing and turning as she waited to hear witches charging into the apartment to arrest her and send Justin after Jackson tonight. By the time Bri's alarm rang at 5:30, Bonnie was so nervous she screamed and fell out of bed.

"Oh my god! Bonnie! Are you alright?" Bri rushed to her side.

"Fine. Just a nightmare." Bonnie explained.

Bonnie spent the next couple hours getting her ass handed to her by Bri and Noah.

"Bonnie! What the hell? That's the fifth time you've missed a basic block! What is going on?" Noah shouted at her.

"Sorry. I didn't sleep well last night." Bonnie explained.

"You didn't sleep well? Mistakes like that get you and your partners killed! I don't care how tired you are, get your shit together." Noah ordered.

"Noah, lay off. She was having nightmares." Bri defended.

"So? She's been having nightmares since she got here." Noah snapped.

"What? No I haven't." Bonnie interrupted. She hadn't had any dreams or nightmares since she got here.

"Yeah you have. Every night, you start crying and squirming. Eventually, you start calling out for someone named Damon." Bri explained.

Bonnie flinched at the mention of Damon.

"You wake me up every night. You really don't remember?" Bri asked.

"No." Bonnie whispered, wondering why she couldn't remember.

"Wow. That is so weird." Bri murmured thoughtfully.

"Who's Damon?" Noah asked.

"He's no one." Bonnie quickly said before immediately feeling guilty. "Not no one, he's… It's personal."

"That's code for an ex." Bri nodded sagely.

"He's not an ex. We didn't even date. Not really. It's just… he's my… something, and I left him behind. He's… he was… mine. When I was with him, I felt like I belonged. Really belonged. Not just my friend's parents taking pity on me because mine were absent. Not just the girl who hung out with the cool kids. He… he was my soulmate." Bonnie struggled to explain.

"That sucks." Noah gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "If it helps to talk about it, I don't mind listening."

Bonnie stared at him in shock. For the past two weeks, he hadn't been particularly welcoming, usually only speaking to her during training. It had been Bri who tried to be friends and defended her.

"Thanks." She nodded hesitantly.

"Bonnie."

They all turned to find Amy glaring at Bonnie and Noah.

"Hey Ames." Bri called.

"I need to speak to Bonnie." Amy declared.

Bonnie nodded and Noah and Bri walked away. Bonnie noticed that Amy's glare seemed to follow Noah for a few seconds before returning to Bonnie. She quickly muttered a silencing spell so that they couldn't be overheard.

"I take it you've come to a decision." Bonnie commented, meeting Amy's stare head on.

"I have. I spent the night looking into all of the situations you showed me." Amy started pacing. "They're all true. I found countless time my coven killed innocent people, sometimes people who hadn't even turned." She turned towards Bonnie. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right. This needs to stop."

"We can stop it. Together." Bonnie declared forcefully.

Amy nodded. "I'll go through all of my mother's missions when she hands them out. If there's anyone who I determine is innocent, one of us will go warn them."

"No." Bonnie shook her head. "We determine together."

"That's too complicated. I don't know if we'll even be able to meet to talk about it." Amy objected.

"Then we'll find a way. Look, power like this needs to be as spread out as possible. Too much, and you risk getting corrupted. All this power has clearly gone to all of the former leader's heads. You clearly don't want to be like them. This will help. At least a little."

"How do I know you won't just run off and warn anyone we disagree on?" Amy asked.

"How do I know you'll bring me all the cases?" Bonnie responded.

Amy glared at her for a few seconds. "Fine. I guess we have to trust each other." She held out her hand.

Bonnie quickly shook it, grinning.

"This doesn't mean I like you." Amy stated.

"Good. Unrequited hate is such a drag." Bonnie smirked.

Amy rolled her eyes before brushing past Bonnie to exit the training room. "I'll find a way to contact you sometime in the next couple days."

Bonnie was still grinning when Bri and Noah came back in.

 **Two months after Bonnie left**

Over the past few weeks, Bonnie and Amy had developed a pretty good system of determining who was innocent and who wasn't. Every couple nights, Amy snuck out of her apartment and met Bonnie in hers. So far, they hadn't found anyone whose fate they couldn't agree on, which was probably good as they still hated each other. Afterwards, one of them would sneak off to warn any innocent person. When the person wasn't within an hour's drive, they would find a pay phone, always a different one, and call them.

Unfortunately, their warnings weren't always successful. Sometimes the person just wouldn't listen or didn't leave in time. Every time they were unsuccessful, Bonnie struggled to keep from falling into depression. Without friends to keep her going, without Damon to remind her she couldn't save the world, she didn't know how to handle guilt.

The first time they failed, Bonnie's guilt manifested as anger. After the third day of her lashing out, Noah brought her down to the training room alone. Instead of working on her knife technique, he told her to sit down on the floor. He sat across from her and took her hands in his.

"I know you're angry at the world right now, and that you miss your friends. I'm going to help you with that." He explained.

"Are we going to sing kumbaya?" Bonnie asked bitterly.

"No. I'm going to show you how to center yourself using magic. Just like your emotions effect your magic, your magic effects your emotions. How do you usually feel after using your magic?"

"Good. It's like… release. Freedom. Peace."

"Exactly. Even when you were stressed or angry before." Noah stated. "Close your eyes and reach for your magic. Feel it in and around you, but don't call for it quite yet."

Bonnie followed his instructions.

"Now, still feeling your magic, think about some of your happiest memories. Nothing nostalgic, just happy or peaceful. Once you have them in the forefront of your mind, call on your magic. Use it to create and control fire while thinking about your memories."

Bonnie followed his instructions, recalling the time Damon entered her dreams for the first time. She remembered the time he brought her to the falls and forced her to jump in. She remembered watching Psych with Caroline, teasing Stefan about his age, laughing with Matt. She remembered how it felt when she found out that Jackson and his mother escaped.

She released her magic in a sudden wave, causing Noah to gasp. Opening her eyes, she saw butterflies made of fire dancing around the two of them. She started laughing before calling the butterflies together, forming them into a dragon, who curled up in her lap.

She glanced up at Noah in wonder to find him smiling for the first time she could recall.

"Better?" He asked.

Bonnie released her hold on her magic, allowing her dragon to fade, and nodded. "Thanks. Where did you learn to do that?" She asked as he helped her to her feet.

"I figured it out a couple years ago." He got a faraway look in his eyes before looking at her again. "The coven doesn't like it because they prefer us to have complete control over our emotions simply by force of will, but I find this is easier."

Bonnie nodded. "Noah?"

"Yeah?"

"You said that if I ever need to talk, you'd listen. I just want you to know the same offer applies to you."

Noah nodded before walking to the weapons stash. "Now that you won't actually try to kill me, let's practice."

 **Two and a half months after Bonnie leaves**

Bonnie glanced nervously at Bri and Noah on either side of her. She had finally been deemed ready for her first hunt, a vampire who had been terrorizing prostitutes. Justin had sent Bri and Noah along as backup.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Noah whispered.

"Of course she's ready for this. Dad and Phoebe both cleared her." Bri whispered back before Bonnie could reply.

Noah kept his eyes on Bonnie, ignoring his sister.

"Yeah, I don't think I really have a choice." Bonnie whispered back.

"Okay. Go for it. Remember, if you start to have trouble, call for us." Noah instructed.

Bonnie nodded and climbed out of the car. She jogged briskly to the old department store the vampire was hiding in. Luckily, it was already closed so she wouldn't have to worry about any innocents getting caught in the crossfire. Murmuring a quick unlocking spell, she opened the door and ducked in. They had already put a tracking spell on him, so she just had to follow the tracker. She snuck through the building, straining to listen for him.

"Hello, girlie."

Bonnie froze, then spun around. She could sense the vampire they were tracking and he was still halfway across the store, but there weren't supposed to be any civilians.

"Can't you read? We're closed." The man was about a foot taller than Bonnie and well built.

"Sorry. The door was opened. I can see myself out."

"That's not a good idea." The man grabbed Bonnie's arm. She froze, sensing the darkness in his soul. He grinned, flashing his fangs.

Bonnie shot her magic into him, throwing him into a tie display. Throwing a fireball, she reached for the stake in her belt only for her arms to be pinned to her side by another pair of arms wrapping around her. Fangs pierced her neck and she screamed in terror and pain. Forcing herself to ignore the pain she gave him an aneurism. When he released her and collapsed with pain, she yanked out her stake and jabbed it into his chest, missing his heart. He shrieked as she jerked the stake out of his body before stabbing it back in, this time hitting his heart. Gasping for breath, she stumbled back, slipping on all the blood on the floor. She flailed before something caught her arm, keeping her up. She was yanked back into the chest of the other vampire, who had managed to put out the fire.

"I told you, we're closed." He growled in her face, fangs glittering dangerously in the dark. He yanked her towards the exit, nearly pulling her arm out of her socket.

Bonnie fumbled for her second stake, struggling to reach it as he jerked her to and fro with every step. Finally, she pulled it free and stabbed it into his back, hitting his heart. She fell to her knees, gasping as she held her hand over the bite wound in her neck.

"Bonnie!"

She turned and saw Noah and Bri charging towards her. Noah caught her just as she fell to her knees and lowered her gently to the floor, cradling her in his lap.

"I got you." He whispered. It was the last thing Bonnie heard before descending into darkness.

Bonnie awoke the next morning in her bed. Groaning, she sat up and felt her neck. There was no sign of the wound.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

Bonnie turned towards the door and found Bri entering carrying a breakfast tray.

"I feel fine. What happened?"

"You passed out from blood loss so Noah performed a healing spell. Then he took you home while I cleaned up the mess." Bri explained, setting the tray over Bonnie's lap.

"As far as first fights go, you did really well. Especially considering you thought there would only be one of them. You killed both of them and only got a bite wound. I had two bites and three broken bones after my first hunt." Bri babbled while Bonnie sipped her orange juice.

"What do you mean I did well? I almost died because I panicked, and I shouldn't have panicked. I've fought lots of vampires before. I even almost killed an original. I should have taken them out no problem." Bonnie objected.

"Look, it was your first time fighting by yourself out there. It takes getting used to. Especially when you're surprised. You'll do better next time. From what Amy tells me, you're not used to fighting for your life. You've always been busier fighting for others. It's different when you're trying to survive instead of just save people, but you don't have to stress about it. We're a team here. We've got your back." Bri explained. "You're not feeling guilty, are you?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"Of course I feel guilty. I killed them." Bonnie exclaimed. "And I know I shouldn't. It was kill or be killed and I was saving innocent people, but at the same time…"

"The guilt will fade. As long as you know that what you're doing is right, you'll be alright. Now I have to go. I'll see you tonight for your second mission. You have the day off, so do whatever you want. Just be back here at 6, kay?" Bri instructed before turning and rushing out the door.

About an hour later, Bonnie was in the living room reading one of the many grimoires Justin owned when someone knocked on the door. Bonnie opened it to find Amy on the other side.

"I thought we weren't meeting until tomorrow." Bonnie said after Amy came in and spelled the room against anyone overhearing.

"We have a problem. My mother found a family of witches who protected a werewolf and she's sending us after them. She's never done this before, we have NEVER attacked witches." Amy ranted, pacing back and forth.

"Have they killed anyone?" Bonnie asked.

"No. They've done nothing except protect a werewolf from our coven. He wasn't even a murderer."

"Then we let them go. Warn them. Just like we have everyone else." Bonnie suggested.

"We can't. We're going after them tonight. I'm supposed to take you, Noah, and Bri with me to finish them. And I'm the only person my mother told. I'm the only one besides her who knows. If we tell them…"

"They know you're warning people. What else can we do? If we don't kill the witches, everyone will still know." Bonnie joined Amy pacing.

"What if one of us did a silent spell? Saves them while the other distracts Bri and Noah?" Amy suggested.

"That could work. You'll have to do it, though. If I do, Bri and Noah will suspect me. Plus, if I can show them that I'm willing to kill witches, they'll believe that I'm fully with the coven." Bonnie pointed out.

"That might work. Although, I don't think my mother will ever fully trust you. Not after you bonded with a vampire. However, I probably know more silent spells than you." Amy agreed.

"Will this work? What if they try to fight us?" Bonnie asked.

"If it comes to them or us, I'll protect my coven. But that doesn't mean I condone killing witches. When we get there, we'll set fire to their house, making it look like an accident. I'll wake them up and slow the spread of the fire, hopefully giving them time to escape. You just have to remember to make sure Bri and Noah see you helping them." Amy directed.

"This sounds too easy. Too simple." Bonnie murmured.

Amy nodded. "We'll just have to wing it and hope for the best."

"Okay. Are you sure you can do this?"

"Of course. My main element is water, so using it to stop and slow fire should be easy. Are you sure you'll have our backs if things go south? I don't want to die because you're overactive conscience decides to make an appearance." Amy retorted.

"My conscience is not overactive." Bonnie objected.

"No, that's why you feel guilty for killing a couple of vamps who almost killed you. I'm being serious. I don't want you going in with a 'ready to die' mindset. You go in with a 'protect our own first' mindset. And don't make any of the mistakes you made last night. Just because you're now trying to survive instead of laying down your life doesn't mean that you get to panic. Noah, Bri, and I have your back. You'll make it out alive. I just want to know you'll do the same for us." Amy ordered.

"I will. If it's us vs. them, I'll take them out." Bonnie said.

"Good." Amy turned to leave.

"Wait. You said that your mother won't trust me because I'm bonded to a vampire, so why does she still want me to take over?" Bonnie asked.

"I probably shouldn't tell you this, but she and Justin are working on finding a way to break your bond. It's why Noah and Bri have been training you instead of them." Amy explained.

"What? I thought it was impossible to break." Bonnie said, hoping beyond hope that it was. Even though she couldn't sense his emotions, knowing that she still shared a connection to Damon had helped her steady herself. It gave her something to cling to.

"Well, we are the most powerful coven in existence, so maybe we can find a way." Amy answered. "You realize this is a good thing, right? I know you and that vampire had some sort of thing going, but not having any connection to him will help make you a better leader."

"I don't want to be a leader. I never have." Bonnie objected.

"Whether you and I like it or not, it seems to be your destiny." Amy responded before leaving the apartment.

That night, Bonnie followed Noah and Amy up the drive towards a large, two story house sitting on top of a hill, Bri bringing up the rear.

When they arrived at the top, the four of them stood in a row staring at the house. Bonnie could feel the tension in her companions. No matter how much Bri and Noah agreed with Phoebe, killing witches wasn't part of the job description.

"Bonnie, your element is fire, so you start." Amy ordered.

Bonnie nodded and summoned her magic. It was the moment of truth. If Amy couldn't slow the fire down, Bonnie was about to kill an innocent family. Forcing the thought from her mind, Bonnie set the house alight. She intentionally focused the majority of the flames on the outside and front of the house, hoping that the smoke would stay outside.

She felt the moment Noah and Bri joined her, as the fire began to spread slowly in. She couldn't fell where it began or ended, which meant that Noah and Bri probably couldn't either, since their elements were earth and air, respectively. Hopefully, that meant Amy was able to slow and contain the flames without their detection.

Suddenly, a car flew through the garage door, barreling right towards them. Bonnie stared at the faces she could see through the rear window. The man who was driving looked terribly familiar. And then she saw the little girl sitting in the backseat and she froze in horror. When Amy said family, she hadn't thought of children. She couldn't even move out of the way of the car until Noah suddenly tackled her into the bushes moments before the car collided with her.

They scrambled to their feet and watched as the car sped down the street, all of them too shocked to try and stop it.

"What the hell, Amy?" Chris suddenly shouted, turning to face Amy. "You didn't say anything about there being a kid!"

Amy glowered at him. "We had orders! I had orders!" She shouted back.

"So? Who the hell cares about orders? We almost killed a kid! Someone who hasn't done anything! Because of orders! You know, I used to believe that you stood for something! That you had beliefs! I would have followed you into hell if you had asked! Now I can't even look at you." Noah growled before stomping down the driveway.

"He didn't mean that." Bri whispered.

"Yes he did." Amy retorted. "Go. Bonnie and I will take a cab home."

"This has to stop. Your mother sent us after another child. Did you know?" Bonnie asked when Bri was out of earshot.

"I knew. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you distracted. This was our only plan and I needed it to work." Amy explained.

"I can't do this. When we were warning people, I thought maybe, but now? How many more times is this going to happen? How many more innocent people is she going to kill?" Bonnie asked.

"There's only one way to end this permanently. In the case of a leader being deemed unfit, her successor can step up before she actually dies." Amy whispered.

"Great. How do we get her deemed unfit?" Bonnie asked.

"We need to get a member of her council to call for a no confidence vote. Then, if at least a third of the coven says she's unfit, the coven chooses between you and her." Amy explained.

"That's never going to work." Bonnie objected.

"Its either that or we keep doing what we're doing and hope that we can save them next time. Because it will happen again, Bonnie. You can count on it." Amy declared.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Wow it's been forever. I have no explanation other than life. I really wish I could say that I'll do better, but I can make no promises. Also, some people were asking if Bonnie was pregnant. Sorry, but that's not something I have planned at this time. Hope y'all enjoy.**

"So we're bringing Bri and Noah in? Are you sure they won't tell anyone?" Bonnie asked Amy. They had spent the drive back strategizing on how to implement their plan.

"It's not like we have a choice. We need all the help we can get, and Noah and Bri will definitely help. Bri knows everything about everyone. Literally. She'll be able to tell us who is most likely to help us and Noah's pretty much the most persuasive person I know. We need them. Besides, you saw how they reacted to this mission. They don't want my mother in charge anymore either." Amy explained.

"Yeah, but they are Justin's kids." Bonnie pointed out.

"And I'm Phoebe's daughter. We're not out parents, Bonnie. We're not going to make the same mistakes." Amy growled.

"I know. It's just, what if they can't see past family? It happens." Bonnie pointed out.

"Look, we're going to have to let people in for this to work. We're going to ask people to go against their families, friends, and pretty much everything they've been raised to believe. Bri and Noah aren't a bad place to start."

Bonnie nodded. "Alright. Let's do this."

They quickly made their way to Justin's apartment, where hopefully Bri and Noah would be waiting for them after debriefing Phoebe. Justin would doubtless be with Phoebe strategizing, so they should have the apartment to themselves. Sure enough, when they entered, Bri and Noah were in the living room.

Noah took one glance at them and turned to leave.

"Noah, wait." Amy called. "Please. We have something to tell you."

Noah spun and glared. "Something to tell me? Like maybe why we're killing witches now? Why you didn't bother telling me?" He stalked closer to Amy, growling. "Or you!" He turned to Bonnie. "You and your friends tortured Amy in order to avoid you having to join us and kill. And now you're alright with it? With killing your own kind?"

"It's not like that! Sit down and we'll explain everything." Bonnie ordered.

"I'd rather stand. Start talking." Noah ordered.

Bonnie sighed and began her story, starting with the first werewolf she warned.

When they got to the end, Bonnie and Amy glanced back and forth between Noah and Bri. Noah was across the room, staring at them, while Bri pushed her hair out of her face, staring at the wall.

"You saved them?" Noah asked quietly, staring at Amy.

Amy nodded, biting her lip. Suddenly, Noah strode across the room and grabbed Amy's face, kissing her passionately. Amy's hands grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him closer.

Bonnie's jaw dropped. She stared at them for a few seconds before she felt Bri grabbing her hand and pulling her out the door.

"Right. We'll let you two… catch up." Bonnie muttered before shutting the door behind her. She leaned on it for a few seconds before glancing at Bri and bursting into giggles.

"Wow. I have to admit I didn't see that coming." She laughed.

"It's about time." Amy grinned. "They were about to get together a year ago, but then we found out about you and Amy changed. She got harder, bitter. Started pulling away from me and Noah. It got to the point where I wasn't sure if they'd ever find their way back to each other."

"Wow. I didn't realize. Is that why she glared at me whenever I talk to Noah?"

"Yep. She was still in love with him, even though she didn't know how to be with him. Didn't even know how to be our friend. All she knew was that she wanted to be the heir again, so she tried to prove herself. I'm glad they're finally figuring things out." Bri smiled softly.

"Good for them. They both deserve to be happy. Don't tell Amy I said that." Bonnie pointed threateningly at Bri.

"You two really don't get along, do you?"

Bonnie shrugged. "We've figured out how to work together. So what do you think? You were awfully quiet out there."

"Noah's right. We don't kill witches." Bri answered.

"So you're in?"

"I'm in."

 **8 months after Bonnie leaves**

"Damon, I need your help." Tommy accosted Damon in the kitchen when everyone else was gone.

Damon glanced at him. "You're thinking of Stefan." He answered before taking a sip of blood.

"Right, you're a terrible person who doesn't care about anything or anyone. Can we just skip the bad-brother complex? I need advice on how to ask Louise to marry me."

Damon grinned slowly. "Finally decided to put a ring on it. Good for you, man. How are you asking?"

"I don't know, that's why I need your advice." Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Just be romantic, roses, candles, that kind of thing." Damon directed.

"Wow. Really. So useful. I'm asking Caroline." Tommy muttered sarcastically.

"Hold your horses, I was getting to the important part. Ask Jackson's permission and make sure he's there."

"I already did that, you idiot. Jackson insisted on being the best man. I need advice on how to get her to say yes."

"You've already done the important stuff. Now you just have to pretend you're in a chick flick and embrace your inner Ryan Gosling. That's the Notebook guy, right?"

"That's him." Stefan said, walking into the kitchen. "Caroline made me watch it." He explained at Tommy's questioning look.

"God, brother, you're so whipped." Damon scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Which makes him the only guy here who actually knows how to propose." Tommy retorted while Stefan shrugged.

"Or you could just go straight to the expert." Stefan suggested.

"Caroline?" Tommy asked.

"Caroline." Damon and Stefan confirmed.

 **DBDBDB**

Bonnie dove out of the way of Phoebe's spell, rolling onto her feet and launching one of her own, a fireball, before spinning behind a tree.

"You're getting better. Almost as fast as an average vampire now." Phoebe called.

Bonnie didn't bother responding and instead placed her palms on the tree behind her. She reached out to it, calling out to its essence, and then sent her power deep into its heart. The tree's roots burst out of the ground, barely missing Phoebe who managed to use magic to leap out of their reach.

Bonnie ran forward, channeling her magic into increasing her speed, and leapt onto one of the flailing roots. Pushing off, she tucked into a role and simultaneously created an ice sword, which she swept in an arc towards Phoebe, barely missing. She landed on her feet, spinning and raising her sword to meet Phoebe's nest onslaught. Phoebe's newly created sword clashed with Bonnie's, and Phoebe proceeded to drive Bonnie backwards with a barrage of attacks.

Bonnie backed away, trying to call one of the roots to attack Phoebe from behind, but with Phoebe's never-ending attack, she couldn't concentrate long enough. She should have known better than to attack with hand-to-hand. Phoebe excelled at swords, and had yet to be beaten. Sure enough, seconds later Bonnie felt her sword fly from her hand as Phoebe expertly disarmed her.

Phoebe's sword halted an inch from Bonnie's neck.

"Do you yield?" Phoebe asked.

"I yield." Bonnie panted.

Phoebe nodded before dropping her sword, which disappeared before it even hit the grass. Bonnie sent more power back to the tree, restoring its roots to the ground, while Phoebe returned the rest of the clearing to its original condition.

"You shouldn't have engaged in the sword fight. Never play to your opponent's strength, only their weaknesses." Phoebe admonished.

"If I want to get better with swords, shouldn't I fight the best? Besides, I almost had you with that root trick." Bonnie retorted.

"Yes, Bonnie, as always, your lack of structure works to your advantage. But what happens in the real world, when you're fighting vampires who don't fight like the rest of the coven? Vampires who act on instinct instead of training?"

"I win. I'm your best hunter under 30 besides Amy, remember?"

"And yet your spells and psychic powers are among the worst in the coven. You're hand-to-hand combat is reasonable, but you rely almost exclusively on channeling your powers into your fighting and using nature to catch your opponents off guard. You should be beating me and everyone else in the coven by now, but you lack drive. You don't care enough to dedicate yourself to your training." Phoebe lectured.

"Maybe I'm not as powerful as you seem to think. Did you ever think of that?" Bonnie snapped.

"I can sense your power, Bonnie. Somethings holding you back. I know it's not your former hesitance to kill. You've already killed more abominations than any other hunter your age except my daughter. Whatever your problem is, deal with it. I'm not holding your hand." Phoebe ordered as she set off towards the car.

"After all the hand-holding so far, that's a real shocker." Bonnie muttered sarcastically and rolled her eyes, refusing to let Phoebe's comments get to her. After swallowing her emotions back down, she rushed after Phoebe.

When they got back to the compound, Bonnie rushed up to her room and hopped in the shower, rushing in order to meet up with Amy, Bri, and Noah before Justin got home. She walked back into the living room in sweats and a tank, hair piled on top of her head and rolled her eyes at Justin and Amy making out on the couch.

"You know, this was a lot cuter when you guys had just started dating." Bonnie groaned as she moved towards the kitchen for a snack. She ducked as a pillow came flying towards her head, letting it bounce harmlessly off the wall.

"Sorry about her. Sometimes I think I have two sisters instead of one." Noah hummed against Amy's lips.

"Maybe if the two of you got a room I wouldn't tease you." Bonnie pointed out, laughing as Amy sent a second pillow her towards her head.

Bri came barging into the apartment. "Gross. Can't you two get a room before you start your spit swapping?" She groaned.

"We had a room before you two pests interrupted us." Amy growled before pushing Noah off her.

"What'd you find out, Bri?" Noah asked, preempting any comebacks.

"Not enough of the coven thinks that Phoebe is unfit. After the witch debacle, some of them think she isn't the best choice, but nowhere near enough to convince them to turn on her. She's too powerful." Bri told them.

Bonnie sighed. "So what now? We've been at this for six months. If we don't have the votes now, how will we ever get them?"

Silence enveloped the room for a minute before Noah spoke. "I have an idea. Some of the people I spoke to over the past month or so were almost ready to join us, they just need an extra push. What if we got the witch family and the werewolf boy who Phoebe tried to have killed to come and testify? That might be enough to push another twenty people onto our side."

"That might work. But we can't bring the werewolf kid. If they sense what he is, they might kill him before he has a chance to speak." Amy agreed.

"So how do we get them to agree to come here?" Bri asked.

"Looks like we're going on a road trip." Amy told Bonnie.

"Absolutely not." Noah objected.

"Why not? She obviously has to be the one to go and she can't go alone." Amy snapped.

"Because you'll try to kill my friends." Bonnie pointed out.

"No I wouldn't." Amy rolled her eyes.

"Oh please. I know you. You're out for blood."

"Ladies!" Noah interrupted, causing them to glance at him. "Amy, Bonnie's right. You can't go. They'll never trust you. Besides, I'll have a better shot at convincing them than you."

Amy looked like she was about to object.

"And I promise I'll punch the two that tortured you." He added.

"Hey! Those are my friends you're talking about!" Bonnie objected.

"Who kidnapped and tortured me!" Amy growled.

"Yeah and a bunch of your friends tortured mine, but you don't see me running around punching all of them!"

"Enough!" Bri interrupted. "Noah, no punching. Bonnie and Amy, stop biting each other's heads off for everything you say."

"Fine." Both girls growled, glares never leaving each other.

"Alright. Bonnie, we're supposed to hunt together in about a week. It's supposed to be a three day trip, so we'll head towards Mystic Falls then and no one will be the wiser." Noah instructed.

 **BDBDBD**

"AAAHHH!" Caroline shrieked, causing Damon, Stefan and Tommy to wince. "You're proposing?! Louise is gonna flip! Let me see the ring!"

Tommy handed her the ring box while Damon turned to Stefan and muttered "She'd probably be a whole lot happier if she knew her fiancé wasn't deaf."

"Shut up." Caroline snapped good naturedly before opening the ring box. "Tommy, this is perfect, Louise is gonna love it."

"You think she'll say yes?" Tommy asked.

"Of course. I mean, the size of the rock alone pretty much guarantees a yes." Caroline gushed.

"Not to mention the fact that she loves you." Stefan cut in.

"And the two of you are totally perfect together and you're amazing with Jackson. She'll never say no." Caroline agreed, handing the ring back to Tommy.

"Not to mention how good you are in the sack." Damon joined in. "What? The walls are thin." He smirked at Tommy's glare.

"I know. Stefan and I have to start our own fun just to drown them out." Caroline sighed playfully before glancing at Stefan and biting her lip. Stefan winked back.

"And now you know why I took the night watch." Damon groaned.

"Can we get back on topic before the two of you start screwing and Damon and I have to bleach our brains?" Tommy begged.

Caroline sighed before pecking Stefan on the lips quickly and turning back to Tommy.

"Okay. You know that ball coming up in about a week? While, I'll take Louise to the spa the day before, since she's working the day of, and while we're out, you three and Jackson are going to decorate the boarding house. You'll put a thousand purple orchids all over the atrium, and have candles everywhere, but not where they'll set the flowers on fire. I'll text you when we're on our way, and you make sure all the blinds are closed and the lights are off. That way the only light comes from all the candles. When I open the door for her, you take a few steps towards her, with Jackson standing nearby, and you drop to your knee, open the box, give her a romantic speech, and then ask her." Caroline instructed.

"That sounds perfect. But are you sure I should ask her the day before a huge ball? Won't she feel pressured to say yes?" Tommy asked.

"We've already established that she's saying yes." Caroline pointed out.

"You've established. I have yet to hear the word come out of her mouth. Maybe she'll feel like I'm just trying to push her to get married. What if she's not ready?" Tommy started pacing nervously.

"Tommy! Do you want her to say yes or not?" Caroline snapped.

"Fine. I'll do your plan. You're sure it's perfect?"

"No. I, Caroline Forbes, perfectionist extraordinaire, best planner in Mystic Falls, romance guru, gave you a faulty proposal plan. Of course it's perfect." Caroline mocked.

"Right. Sorry. I'm gonna go see if I need to preorder those flowers. Damon?"

"Why would I want to order flowers with you?" Damon frowned.

"Would you rather watch the two of them make out? Or more? Because I'm pretty sure that's exactly what they'll be doing in about thirty seconds."

"Right. Flowers it is."

Stefan chuckled as the two practically ran from the room. He turned to Caroline and pulled her into his arms before kissing her deeply. After a couple seconds he pulled back and waited for her to open her eyes.

"You ever think about it? Getting married?" He asked.

"Yeah, sometimes. I guess it's different, being a vampire and all. Forever actually means forever. On the other hand, it'd be nice to have someone to make that commitment to. Someone I know is always gonna be there. But I guess I already have that with you, since we're soulmates." Caroline explained.

"I'm not staying around because we're soulmates. Or because of Bonnie's spell, for that matter. I'm staying with you because I love you." Stefan told her.

"I know. I'm staying for the same reason. I just meant… You're kinda perfect for me, and I am definitely perfect for you. We both know it, and we've both agreed to work at this together. I'm not sure marriage is a bigger commitment than that." Caroline explained.

Stefan smiled. "Really? Marriage isn't just we're working together. It's burning the boat. If we ever get married, there's no backing out for me. Bar nothing."

"Good." Caroline smiled before kissing him softly.

 **DBDBDB**

"What'd you expect, Bonnie? You left, remember? You told us to live our lives, and that's exactly what we did." Damon smiled cruelly before leaning over and kissing the red head soundly on the mouth.

Bonnie gasped, struggling to swallow back her tears. Damon released the red head before turning back to Bonnie.

"We've moved on. Found a new witch. She's better than you. She doesn't need me to hold her hand during spells or protect her from a coven. She's a badass. And way better than you in bed. She gets wild. Kinky." Damon taunted, the red head next to him smiling and giggling at his compliments.

"Face it, Bonnie." Caroline appeared next to Damon, Stefan by her side. "We never needed you. All you did was cause trouble. And now we're safe. Now I have a best friend I actually like."

Bonnie whimpered and took a step back, shaking her head. "Why are you saying this?" She whispered.

"You don't belong here. You never did. You lifted right out. And now, we don't have space for you anymore. No room for the lonely witch." Damon grinned before standing up and shoving her hard.

Bonnie fell hard, bruising her hip. She started scooting backwards, trying to get away from her friends who were approaching menacingly.

"No! Stop! Please!" She begged.

"You don't belong." Stefan laughed.

"We don't want you."

"We're better off without you."

Their voices started blending together as Bonnie slammed her hands over her ears trying to drown them out. She closed her eyes and wished she was anywhere else.

Damon grabbed her hands and yanked her towards him. Bonnie's eyes flew open as she shrieked and jumped back, falling off the bed and into the land of the living.

"Bonnie!"

Bonnie sat up, dazed and confused as she gasped for breath.

"You alright?"

She glanced up and saw Bri sitting in front of her, forehead crinkled in concern.

"Sorry. I'm fine. Just a nightmare." Bonnie nodded, reminding herself that she was still in the coven.

"Again? I thought they'd stopped." Bri murmured. "Do you remember it? What was it about?"

"Nothing. It was nothing."

"I can teach you how to meditate." Bri offered.

"Bri, I've already tried Noah's power-emotion thing. It didn't work. Not with these."

"Yeah, but that's Noah's meditation. I have a different strategy. Close your eyes."

"Bri…"

"Bonnie close your eyes."

Bonnie sighed but obeyed.

"Now, imagine you're in a field. A field of daisies. Daisies. Yellow. Or white. And they don't have to be daisies. Maybe buttercups."

"I'm in a field of purple sunflowers. What next?" Bonnie interrupted Bri's ramble.

"Okay. Now there's a creek running through the field, trickling softly. A breeze blows gently through your hair. You turn around and there's a hole behind you, it's deep. You take all of your worries, fears, and struggles, put them in the whole, and then you burry them."

Bonnie's eyes shot open. "Really, Bri? Is that actually supposed to help?"

"I don't know. It never helped me. I always end up going to the pet store. Did you know they let you play with the animals? I just figured they teach us that trick for a reason, so maybe it would work for you."

"Bri?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. You got my mind off of everything." Bonnie said with a smile.

 **DBDBDB**

Jackson, Stefan, and Damon were helping Tommy get the boarding house ready while they waited for Louise and Caroline to get back.

"By the way, you're going to the ball tomorrow." Stefan commented.

"Not gonna happen." Damon said without looking up.

"Yes, you are. Elena and Tyler already agreed to watch Jackson and Lilliana, so you don't have your usual excuse." Stefan ordered.

"How about I don't want too?"

"Why not? You always have fun." Stefan pointed out.

"Maybe I don't want to today."

"Why not?"

"Because, Stefan, watching Louise and Tommy getting engaged is hard enough. I don't feel like going to a ball and watching a hundred other couples give each other longing glances." Damon ranted.

"Damon, part of the point of this ball is to get people to meet each other."

"Then I can watch people fall in love for the first time. Even better." Damon rolled his eyes.

"Look, the whole group will be there and it doesn't feel right without you."

"I'll let Elena and Tyler know how much you care." Damon smirked.

"Shut up. Will you come or not?"

"Fine. I'm in. But if I wind up standing on the edge of the dance floor watching all you couples moon over each other, I'm not going to be happy."

"No mooning. Got it." Stefan smirked while Damon rolled his eyes.

"Guys! Caroline just texted! They're on their way." Tommy burst into the room, looking slightly stressed.

"Alright. Just remember, if she says no, you'll have to find a new place because Jackson and Louise are both way cuter than you." Damon said seriously.

"What Damon means is good luck and she'll say yes, right brother?" Stefan growled.

"I'm sure. Jackson? You ready?" Tommy turned to the boy who came running into the room.

"Yep." Jackson grinned proudly.

"They're here." Stefan said before he and Damon moved out of the way.

The front door opened and Louise walked in, looking over her shoulder to finish her sentence to Caroline. She noticed the flickering candles and turned slowly, stopping when she saw Tommy standing in the hallway. He walked towards her, smiling gently, and dropped to one knee before her, opening the ring box.

"Louise, you are the most wonderful woman in the world. From the moment I met you, I knew I never wanted to be without you. You came into my life and taught me how to dream, how to love. All I want is to return the favor and make you the happiest woman on earth. Would you give me the chance?"

"Yes. Yes. A million times yes." Louise gasped out before launching herself at Tommy.

Tommy caught her and kissed her for all he was worth.

"Ewwww!" Jackson squealed.

Louise laughed as she and Tommy pulled apart.

"Sorry, buddy. Do you know what this means?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yep. Tommy explained it to me. He said he'll be my new daddy, but that I didn't have to call him that." Jackson nodded.

"And you feel ok about that?" Louise asked, kneeling in front of him.

"Yep. He's cool. As long as you don't kiss. It's gross."

Louise laughed and hugged Jackson before turning back to Tommy. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I ask myself that every day. Now let's go have se-elbrations." Tommy caught himself with a glance at Jackson, causing Louise to giggle.

"Yay! Can I come?" Jackson asked excitedly.

"Nope." Damon quickly scooped him up, causing Tommy and Louise to smile gratefully. "You get to come with me for ice cream."

"But I want to celebrate with Tommy and Mom." Jackson whined.

"No you don't. They're going to be kissing, and making goo-goo eyes at each other." Damon stuck his tongue out in disgust.

"Gross. Let's go get ice cream." Jackson agreed.

"That's my man." Damon grinned, walking out the front door.

"Can we bring Lilliana?" Jackson asked excitedly.

"I don't see why not." Damon agreed.

Stefan grinned before turning to the couple. "Congratulations you two."

"Yeah, it's about time." Caroline said with a laugh. "Now, we're all out of the house for the night, so have fun. Tyler's got Jackson, Stefan's staying with me, and Damon's on patrol. Elena, Whitney, and I will be by at three tomorrow to get ready for the ball, so both of you had better be wearing pants. Got it?" She pointed threateningly.

"Aye-aye Captain." Tommy teased.

"Alright. Have fun." Caroline said with a grin before she and Stefan rushed out the door.

 **BDBDBD**

"Bonnie, are you sure you want to go? You haven't had a good night's sleep in a week. Maybe your nightmares are trying to tell you something." Bri asked while Bonnie packed.

"They're just nightmares, Bri. Besides, I can't send Noah in alone."

"They're more than regular nightmares and you damn well know it. You've tried sleeping pills, spells, everything, and they're still not letting up. Noah can handle this."

"No, he can't. They'll never listen to him. I'm going."

"But…"

"Bri. I'm going."

"Fine. Just promise me you'll be careful. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'll be fine. I promise." Bonnie zipped her bag before Bri pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Ok. I have to go before Noah starts lecturing me about the importance of being on time. I swear he can be such a dad sometimes."

Bonnie walked into the living room and rolled her eyes at Amy and Noah. "Ok, break it up you two. You'll see each other in a few days." She called as she walked out the front door.

Noah came jogging after her, and they walked quickly to the car.

When they made it out of the city, he turned to her. "You alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure? This is kinda a big deal."

"I'm fine. I just didn't expect to ever make it back."

Noah nodded. Bonnie turned and stared out her window. She was going back, but what was she going back too?

 **BDBDBD**

"So when are we going dress shopping? There's a few places in town that have some good wedding dresses." Caroline asked Louise. They were at the ball, waiting for Stefan and Tommy to come back with drinks. Louise was dressed in a gorgeous blue ball gown that reached her knees and a mask to match. It made her olive skin glow. Caroline meanwhile was wearing a pale, seafoam green silk dress with a flowing skirt and a darker green mask.

"You want to go sometime this week? Tommy and I want the wedding as soon as possible, maybe two months." Louise answered.

"Two months! Are you crazy? We'll never be able to plan a wedding that fast, even with my skills!" Caroline shrieked.

"Yes we can. I just want something simple. You know the a few miles up Barr Trail? We want to get married up there with just a few close friends. Get married at dusk with some lights that look like stars strung all over the clearing."

"That's so romantic." Caroline sighed.

"So you'll be my wedding planner, right? Even with it simple, I don't think I'd be able to pull it off without you."

"Of course." Caroline agreed before glancing up. She caught sight of Stefan making his way through the crowd carrying her drink. Damn, that man could wear a suit. He filled it out perfectly, with the jacket narrowing at the waist, calling attention to his broad shoulders. His tie matched her dress, and his mask, calling attention to his stunning eyes.

"Hot damn." Caroline murmured under her breath.

"And that's all the wedding talk I'm getting out of you tonight."

Caroline ignored her as Stefan bent down to kiss her before handing her a drink.

"Hey beautiful."

"Hey hot stuff."

"You'd think they were the newly engaged couple." Louise commented.

"Well then we should show them how it's done. Care to dance?" Tommy grabbed Louise and pulled her out onto the floor without giving her a chance to respond.

"Let's go." Caroline grabbed Stefan and pulled him out onto the dance floor.

"Are you seriously going to make me dance just so that they don't show us up?" Stefan asked, spinning Caroline into his arms.

"Problem?" Caroline asked.

"Well my feelings are a little hurt. I didn't realize I was just a prop in one of your competitions."

Caroline giggled. "You are definitely the handsomest prop I've ever seen"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, madam."

"And here I was hoping to get into your pants." Caroline sighed.

"Flattery will get you everywhere." Stefan corrected, causing Caroline to throw back her head and laugh.

 **DBDBDB**

"I can't believe I have to wear a monkey suit. And a mask. What kind of messed up place did you grow up in?" Noah complained as Bonnie struggled into her dress in the backseat of the car.

"Welcome to Mystic Falls. We're worse than Stars Hollow. I'm just glad there were posters back in that last town so we knew to stop for clothes." Bonnie grunted, trying to zip her dress up.

"No kidding. The last thing we need is to draw more attention to ourselves. Need some help?" Noah offered.

"I think I've got it." Bonnie said as she gave the zipper an extra hard yank. She winced as the sound of fabric tearing filled the car.

"You sure? Because that sounded an awful lot like silk ripping." Noah called back.

"Don't suppose you could do a repair spell?" Bonnie asked sheepishly.

"Sure, but it won't hold up well if you and your vampire boyfriend decide to have an… enthusiastic reunion." Noah teased.

"Shut up." Bonnie muttered, glad the car was dark so he couldn't see her blush. She turned her back towards him and felt his hand cover the rip before the fabric stitched itself back together.

"Thanks."

"No problem. You ready?"

"Let's do this." Bonnie nodded.

Noah opened her door for her before offering his arm. Bonnie slipped her hand into his elbow and stepped gracefully from the car. They'd already cast a concealment charm on the car, allowing them to park on the side of the drive close to the manor where the ball was being held. Noah began to move towards the stairs leading up to the front door when Bonnie tugged on his arm.

"We can't go in that way. Everyone will be able to see us and since we're already almost an hour late, that's gonna attract attention. I know a way in through the back. Should be open."

"Come on, Bennett, don't you want your _Cinderella_ moment?"

"Sure, someday when attracting attention doesn't mean someone dies." Bonnie muttered.

"Have you seen you in that dress? You're attracting attention either way."

Bonnie sighed and glanced down at her dress. Granted, the red silk was dramatic, but she didn't really have a choice. It was the only dress that fit.

"Just come on." Bonnie sighed, grabbing his hand and pulling him in through the side door.

They entered the ballroom, and Bonnie was shocked at the wave of nostalgia flooding through her. Sure, these parties drove her nuts, but they were part of home.

"You good?" Noah whispered.

Bonnie nodded as her eyes caught sight of Caroline across the room. She was talking to a beautiful brunette before shrieking seemingly randomly. Bonnie simultaneously wished she had vampire hearing so she could listen in and desperately didn't want to know what they were talking about. ' _Now I have a best friend I actually like.'_ Caroline's voice whispered. Bonnie shook her head and saw Caroline and Stefan moving onto the dance floor.

"Who do we have to talk too?" Noah asked.

Bonnie sighed and returned her attention to the mission. "We should probably find one of my friends. Talking to the witch family without any backup seems unwise considering we tried to kill them last time we saw them."

"True. So, who's lucky enough to get a reunion?"

"Question of the hour." Bonnie whispered. She wondered what Damon would say. Maybe he'd moved on, gotten back with Elena, or even someone new. She could almost picture how that conversation would go, him making snarky comments about her running off with some warlock. Sure, he said he loved her, but it was during sex. There was no guarantee of forever, certainly not after she abandoned him like everyone else. No, talking to Damon was out of the question.

Maybe Caroline? No, telling Caroline meant getting pressured to stay. Or maybe hearing about her new best friend. Caroline's life looked just about perfect right now. She had Stefan and a new best friend who didn't need protection or help and didn't bring all sorts of danger into her life. She had the life she always wanted.

Bonnie felt herself begin to hyperventilate and the walls begin to close in on her.

"Bon! Bon!" Noah called softly, placing one hand on the small of her back and brushing her cheek with the other to get her attention. Bonnie felt her breathing return to normal and her sense of claustrophobia disappear.

"You alright?" Noah asked when Bonnie glanced at him.

"I need some air." She said before practically dashing towards a door that led to a porch. She noticed that the porch was relatively empty as she crossed to the railing. Grabbing the marble railing, she stared out at the sky, she tried to catch her breath and hold back her nausea. After a few seconds, she closed her eyes.

"You never struck me as the love-em and leave-em type."

Bonnie's eyes flew open and she turned to find herself staring into Damon's crustal blue eyes.

"Although, since you came back I guess I can forgive you. If you ask nicely." Damon smirked.


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks for all the reviews, faves, etc. 26chapters, all of your questions will be answered sometime in the next few chapters. Hope y'all enjoy.**

Damon stood at the drinks table, trying to ignore the churning in his gut. His jaw tensed and his palms began to sweat. Something was coming. Something good, something dangerous. He wasn't sure yet.

"Stop glaring." Stefan said from beside him, picking up a stem of champagne for Caroline. "You're supposed to be having fun."

Damon rolled his eyes. "I'd have fun if everyone would stop being boring."

"Party pooper." Tommy commented before gesturing towards Louise and Caroline. "I'm going to dance with my fiancé."

"Have fun." Damon muttered sarcastically before walking upstairs and leaning on a railing overlooking the ballroom, leaving Stefan to follow Tommy over to where the girls were. His stomach dropped and his palms started to sweat again, causing him to start searching the ballroom for the cause. His eyes darted across masked faces, swirling gowns, and rented tuxes before catching on a flash of red by the back door.

He focused his entire attention on the woman in the dress, studying her intently. The bodice clung to her chest and torso before dropping away in a flowing silk skirt, covered with a thin layer of black lace. In between the bodice and the skirt was a row of silk roses, separating the dark, tight bodice from the loose, soft skirt. The dress was perfect for her, calling attention to her small waist and ample curves. The color set her skin aflame, bringing out cinnamon undertones from her dark complexion. Her hair fell down her back in loose curls, highlighting her perfect neck.

Damon studied her for a second, wondering why he felt so drawn to her and why she seemed so familiar, before her companions hand on her lower back rudely tore him from his thoughts with a flash of jealousy. Concentrating all of his senses on the couple, he caught the end of the man asking the girl if she was alright.

"I need some air." A voice Damon had thought he would never hear again replied.

"Bonnie." He whispered, dashing after her out into the cool night air.

He watched her for a moment, letting her wonderful heart beat wash over him. He wanted to laugh, pull her too him and kiss her senseless, or maybe strangle her for leaving, he wasn't sure. Her scent flooded his senses, calling to him. He approached her slowly, wondering what on earth he would say to her.

"You never struck me as the love-em and leave-em type." The words flew from his mouth. Granted, not his best line, but he could build off of that.

Binnie turned slowly, and Damon felt a smirk flit across his face. He quickly cataloged all of the features he hadn't been able to see in the ballroom. She looked tired, but her chin jutted out slightly, in that same determined tilt he was so fond of. Her eyes, though, drew him in just like before. Deep green pools, now filled with knowledge and memories weighing her down. Even her mask couldn't hide the change. He brushed his worry aside, speaking again.

"Although, since you came back I guess I can forgive you. If you ask nicely."

Emotions jumped across her face and her eyes darted to the side. Shame, pain, and determination battled for a moment before determination won. Naturally. Her eyes returned to him as her jaw set, and she spoke to him for the first time in almost a year.

"I need your help." Her voice had changed. Her lilt was ever so slightly off, carrying a smidge of New York where Virginia once lingered. Hardly noticeable, but enough to remind Damon how much time had passed.

"Later." Damon reached for her hand, pulling her towards him.

"Damon…" She objected.

"Yeah, yeah, end of the world. Yawn. Been there, done that. Let's dance." He grinned, leading her back into the room. He hoped she would listen, hoped he would be able to have a moment to hold her before the world fell apart for the millionth time.

"I don't have time. Things are happening." Bonnie tried to explain, following him towards the dance floor.

"Wow. Shocker. Would you have come back if things weren't happening?" Damon asked, suddenly curious, not to mention a little bit bitter. He spun her around into his arms, holding her tightly.

Bonnie sighed, letting her eyes dart from his eyes and instead looked over his shoulder. "You know I couldn't."

Damon shrugged, letting it go for the moment. "How are you?" He asked rocking, her gently to the music.

Bonnie's eyes returned to his, mouth dropping in surprise at his easy subject change. She stared for a moment, causing Damon to grin at how cute she looked when shocked.

"I'm fine." She said shortly.

"Hmm." Damon hummed noncommittally, letting her blatant lie slip past for now.

"We're doing fine, by the way. Got quite the little community here, thanks to you. You're a bit of a celebrity."

"That's actually why I'm here. I need to speak to the witch family who came here about five months ago. We might be able to end this if they're willing to help." Bonnie explained.

Damon rolled his eyes. "What part of 'later' is so hard to understand?"

Bonnie opened her mouth, doubtless to start going on about saving people and protecting innocents and blah blah blah, but Damon barreled straight ahead.

"If I kiss you, will you finally relax and talk to me?"

Bonnie blushed but met him head on. "Damon, this is important. People could die."

"People die, Bonnie, it's what they're good at." He snapped, his irritation with her refusal to address the topic at hand overriding his joy at her return.

"Damon!"

"What, Bonnie? What do you want me to say? People are always dying, that doesn't make it your job to kill yourself in order to save them." Damon ranted.

"Oh my god!" He heard a sharp voice behind him. "Bonnie!" She was yanked out of his arms and disappeared behind a pile of blond hair.

Damon rolled his eyes, feeling his irritation with Caroline spike. "In case you hadn't noticed, we were kind of in the middle of something, Blondie."

"Shut up, Damon. What are you doing here? When did you get here? You can stay, right?" Caroline questioned Bonnie, still not releasing her.

"Shh, Care. Not so loud. We're trying to keep my return quiet. The fewer people who know the better." Bonnie whispered frantically.

"What? Why?" Caroline pulled back, looking into Bonnie's eyes.

"You're not staying, are you?" Stefan asked from beside Damon. "You're just here to ask for our help, and then you're leaving."

Bonnie at least had the grace to look ashamed, glancing away, biting her lip, and fidgeting with her dress.

"Bonnie! You can't just leave. Not again. You just got back." Caroline begged.

"Look, can we take this somewhere private? I need to keep this quiet." Bonnie asked.

Damon rolled his eyes at her obvious stalling tactic but promptly grabbed her and started leading her out the back door, keeping a hand on the small of her back the whole time. He heard Stefan and Caroline following a few feet behind.

Suddenly a man appeared in front of them, looking straight at Bonnie and ignoring the other three.

"You alright?" Damon recognized the voice from earlier, and rolled his eyes at her companion.

"She's fine. Just catching up with some old friends." He growled.

"I wasn't actually asking you." The boy said calmly.

"Pissing contest later boys. Right now we need to talk." Bonnie ordered, preemptively interrupting Damon's witty comeback.

Damon rolled his eyes as he shoved past the kid, purposely bumping shoulders with him and ignoring Bonnie's swat on his shoulder for his behavior. Naturally, the kid followed anyway.

"Right. Let's talk about what's going on." Caroline declared once they were about 50 feet away from the party.

"Why don't we just leave it until the morning? We have plenty of time." The kid asked.

"Really? Plenty of time? Weird." Damon said sarcastically, glaring at Bonnie.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Damon, listen-"

"Damon? This is the guy who tortured Amy? Your boyfriend?" The boy exploded at Bonnie.

"We're not technically dating." Bonnie objected.

"We are definitely dating, Judgey." Damon smirked at Bonnie before turning towards Noah. "Now, why the hell are you so protective of the girl who helped kidnap my brother? Are you part of the coven? One of Bonnie's kidnappers, maybe?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You tried to kill my girlfriend! She still wakes up with nightmares! You don't get to judge me!" Noah growled, letting fire appear on his fingertips.

"You and your crazy cult kidnapped mine! You wanna go, boy? Let's go!" Damon grinned.

"Hey! You two are not going to fight! Noah, if you touch him it breaks your father's promise, and they'll figure out where we are. Damon, leave him alone. He didn't kidnap me." Bonnie shouted. Damon and Noah backed away from each other, glaring the whole time.

"Thank you. Now, where's the witch family? We need to talk to them." Bonnie asked Caroline.

"Really? He literally just said you can wait until the morning, Bon." Caroline snapped.

"I was wrong. We need to get out of here as soon as possible." Noah growled, still glowering at Damon.

"Liar. You're just mad at Damon, which is understandable, but that doesn't mean you get to pressure her to leave." Caroline objected.

"He's not pressuring me to leave, Caroline." Bonnie interrupted.

"Of course not. Bonnie's practically begging to leave. Can't wait to get out of here." Damon glared at Bonnie.

"It's not like that, Damon!"

"Sure it's not. You're practically begging to leave! Did you even miss us? Were you just waiting to leave? Couldn't wait to get all powerful? Is that it?" Damon shouted, advancing on her.

"Damon!" Stefan shouted, but Damon just ignored him and kept shouting.

"You don't write, don't call. I know you could've done either of those at some point, if you wanted too. It's like you just cut us out of your life entirely! Why?"

"Maybe she thought her magic being bonded to you was bad enough and didn't want to make it worse." Noah muttered sarcastically before Bonnie could answer.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Her magic isn't bonded to me." Damon snapped.

"Of course it is. That's what happens when vampires and witches blood share, their powers connect. Can't you feel her emotions, incompetent moron?" Noah glowered at Damon.

"The bond is temporary, Witchipedia. You know, if your coven is this poorly informed on vampires, I suddenly feel a lot safer." Damon snarked.

"It's not temporary, you bumbling buffoon. One of the benefits of being a witch is permanent bonds." Noah growled.

"Then why can't I feel her, oh omniscient one?" Damon asked sarcastically.

"What do you mean you can't feel it? You have to be able to feel it. That's kind of the definition of a permanent… wait… You're blocking your bond?" Noah spun towards Bonnie. "Bonnie, you can't do that! Your bond is connected to your magic! No wonder you're having so much trouble with your magic. You need to let him in."

"I don't know how. I didn't even know I was blocking him until now." Bonnie explained, irritation filling her tone.

"Well how does she unblock me, assuming you're even telling the truth?" Damon asked.

"You think I would lie about my best friend needing to open herself up to the vampire I hate most on this planet? I would never risk her safety like that." Noah shouted.

"Guys! Can we focus on Bonnie now? What does she need to do to open the bond?" Caroline interrupted.

"I don't know. We've never seen anything like this before." Noah said with a sigh.

"Oh that's great. He doesn't know. Wonderful." Damon muttered sarcastically.

"Leave him alone. It's not his fault. I'm the second witch they've ever heard of doing this." Bonnie defended, causing Damon to roll his eyes before he got an idea.

"Well, there is one way I can guarantee you'll open your emotions to me." He said with a grin. "Looks like I'm getting lucky tonight. Or you're getting lucky, Witchy."

 **BDBDBD**

Bonnie's mouth dropped open.

"Seriously, Damon? You do realize there are other ways to connect emotionally with someone." Caroline ranted.

"True. So what do you say, Sweetcheeks? Want to talk? I'm thinking sleepover. I'll do your nails, we'll watch rom-coms, make brownies." Damon gushed in a high-pitched voice, mocking Caroline.

"Are you trying to blackmail me into sex?" Bonnie asked incredulously.

"Nope. You have to either talk to me, or have sex. I win either way." Damon grinned, crowding into her personal space, not that he'd left it very long.

"Technically, she doesn't have to do either of those things." Stefan interjected calmly. "Theoretically, the two of you just have to get in touch with your emotions. That should let you get in touch with each other's."

"Have you met them? They're the two least emotionally aware people on the planet." Caroline pointed out incredulously.

"And here I was thinking we were bonding, Care." Damon smirked sarcastically.

"I'm way more emotionally mature than him!" Bonnie objected.

"That won't work anyway." Noah pointed out. "She already got in touch with her emotions. Didn't open it up then, won't now."

"See?" Bonnie smirked triumphantly at Caroline.

"Technically all he said was that you're in touch with your emotions, not that you're mature." Stefan pointed out calmly.

"Thanks, Stefan. Nice to know someone's on my side." Bonnie said with an eye roll.

"Happy to help." Stefan responded drily.

"So what's it gonna be, Witchy-poo? You and me are spending the night together and you get to pick our activities." Damon smirked at her.

"Take me back to the boarding house." Bonnie commanded after a second's thought.

Damon swept her into his arms without a word, causing Bonnie to gasp in surprise. She closed her eyes as he started moving.

When they got to the boarding house, she found herself sitting on the couch with Damon sitting in the arm chair across from her.

"Okay. Talk." Damon ordered.

"Talk? Really? I'd rather have sex." Bonnie argued stubbornly.

"Oh, I know. I am irresistible." Damon smirked proudly. "But that's not why you want to have sex, is it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you want to have sex with me so that you don't have to open yourself up."

"I just don't see what talking is going to do."

"It might help you move past whatever you're hiding." Damon pointed out.

"Therapist Damon Salvatore. Never thought I'd see the day." Bonnie muttered sarcastically.

"I've been watching Oprah." Damon grinned before becoming serious. "So start talking, because I'm not sleeping with you until you tell me what's going on in that crazy little mind of yours."

"What do you even want me to say, Damon?" Bonnie shouted. "I don't know why I'm blocking you. I don't know what's causing this."

"Why did you stop sending people to Mystic Falls?" Damon asked.

"Noah, Amy, Bri, and I came up with a plan to take down the coven once and for all. We couldn't implement it if people were suspecting us of being traitors, so we stopped giving people a heads up when the coven was coming."

"How many?" Damon asked quietly.

"What?"

"How many people died because you made that decision?" Damon elaborated. "Come on, Bonnie. I know you kept count. How many?" He repeated when she didn't answer.

"Fifty one." Bonnie said under her breath, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Fifty one?" Damon asked in an incredulous tone.

"Yes, Damon. Fifty one. That's how many people died because I couldn't save them without risking blowing the whole operation. I didn't have a choice." Bonnie confessed, gritting her teeth and forcing herself to meet his eyes.

"You didn't have a choice?" Damon questioned. "You're alright with fifty one people dying because you didn't have a choice?"

"Five minutes ago you were going on and on about how it's not my responsibility to save everyone. What changed?" Bonnie shouted, standing up and pacing.

"Nothing's changed!" Damon shouted right back, getting to his feet and grabbing her shoulders to force her to face him. "You think I care about those people, Bon? I don't give a flying rat's ass about them! I'm just wondering why you don't either!"

"You think I don't care? Of course I care, Damon! That's the whole problem! I care too much! Whenever I think about them, I remember what a terrible person I am. I remember how I abandoned my friends! How many people are dead because of me! I can't afford to let myself care because if I do, I'll never stop. I'll remember what a terrible person I am and how I don't deserve to survive this! And I'll stop. I'll stop fighting! So I keep moving. I force myself not to think about them, because if I do, who knows how many people will die. So don't you dare ask if I care." Bonnie finished, breathing heavily.

Damon started to smile slightly.

"What?" Bonnie asked.

"I can feel the bond." He grinned before leaning down and kissing her.

Bonnie kissed him back, gasping as he bit down on her lower lip. After another second, he pulled back.

"Bonnie, none of those people dying is your fault. You can't control who lives and who dies." He whispered.

"I could have saved them." Bonnie argued quietly.

"Then the coven would have found out about your plan and even more people would have died. This isn't your fault. None of this. Evil people do evil things, and sometimes even you can't stop them." Damon comforted.

Bonnie nodded. "Will you kiss me again?" she asked after a moment.

"Depends. Are you trying to avoid this?" He asked teasingly.

"No. I just really missed kissing you." Bonnie whispered.

"No more running then?" He whispered back.

"No more running."

 **DBDBDB**

Caroline shifted awkwardly, glancing at Noah. With Bonnie and Damon gone, none of them knew quite what to say.

"Are you staying in Mystic Falls?" She asked after a moment. "There's a really nice bed and breakfast on Main St. I'd offer you a place to stay, but there's no way we're going to the boarding house tonight and my mom isn't a fan of strangers." She rambled.

"No offence, but I wouldn't want to stay with the two of you anyway. Not a fan of vampires." Noah answered.

"I thought you were one of the good guys." Caroline said.

"I don't agree with killing innocent vampires. Doesn't mean I'm your biggest fan."

"Fair enough." Stefan said from behind Caroline.

"Fair enough?" Caroline asked incredulously. "He doesn't even know me. Why do you think you get to be all judgmental?"

"I know enough. I know you're Caroline, the seemingly innocent cheerleader who'd like all the world to think you're one of the good ones, but you have no problem torturing Amy. Your heart is as black as any other vampires I've ever killed." Noah spat caustically.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Stefan jumped to her defense.

"And you. Stefan Salvatore. The good brother, right? The one who cries about his kills. Sorry, but my definition of good requires a bit more than just remorse. The only thing keeping me from killing both of you right now is the fact that it would bring down my entire coven on us and we'll never succeed." Noah growled before stalking back towards the house.

"Wow. What an asshole. I can't believe Bonnie's friends with that guy." Caroline glared at his retreating back.

"I can. You've seen who she's dating, right?" Stefan joked.

"Fair point." Caroline paused. "Do you think he's right? Are we terrible people?"

"Sometimes." Stefan answered quietly. "I think we'll do terrible things for the people we love."

Caroline nodded. "I guess all we can do is try to move past it."

"Do you think Bonnie will leave again?" Caroline asked after a moment.

"I think she feels that she has too." Stefan murmured, pulling her into a hug.

"Why? We could help her. We could fight this so that she didn't have to leave."

"No we couldn't. You know I don't want her to leave any more than you do, but we're nowhere near prepared to fight this coven. Five of them took us down without even blinking. I think this is something that she has to do, whether we like it or not." Stefan answered.

"How can you say that?" Caroline cried, pulling back out of his arms.

"Because it's the truth, Caroline. We might be able to help her, but when the moment of truth comes, she's going to have to stand on her own." Stefan explained.

"She shouldn't have too. I don't want her that for her." Caroline argued.

"It doesn't matter what we want." Stefan said. "Any of us."

"Damon will be alright, whatever she decides." Caroline told him, catching onto his line of thought.

"This is my brother we're talking about."

"You mean the brother who has actually been a brother to you for the past 8 months? The brother who's making friends for the first time in God knows how long? Lasting friendships? The brother who's babysitting kids? Patrolling at night to keep everyone safe? That brother? He'll be fine. It might take some time, but he'll get there." Caroline murmured.

Stefan smiled softly before bending down to kiss her. "You ready to go home?"

Caroline nodded.

The next morning, Caroline awoke to her ringtone blaring through her room.

"Hello?" She asked without looking at the caller ID.

"Hey Blondie. You and my brother need to get to the boarding house. We have a situation." Damon informed her.

"What situation?" Caroline asked, but Damon had already hung up.

"I can't believe I defended that asshole last night." She muttered under her breath.

"Worry about that later. Right now Bonnie needs us." Stefan instructed from behind her as he grabbed a pair of jeans he'd left at her place on a previous night.

They both rushed to get ready, making it to the boarding house in record time.

"What happened? Is Bonnie alright?" Caroline rushed out as soon as they opened the door.

"I'm fine." Bonnie said, turning from her conversation with three other supernaturals.

"Amy?" Caroline gasped, shock all over her face.

"Relax. I'm not here to kill you. Yet." Amy glared threateningly.

"I'd like to see you try." Caroline growled.

"Ladies, as much as I'd love to see a catfight, we have bigger issues at hand." Damon interrupted.

"Thank you, Damon. Now, can you tell them what you told us?" Bonnie asked.

 **DBDBDB**

That morning, Damon awoke to someone pounding down their front door.

"What the hell?" Bonnie asked from beside him, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"I'll take care of it." Damon answered, walking towards the door.

"Don't you think you should put some clothes on first?" Bonnie asked.

"Not really. This is probably the best way to stop whoever's out there from ever interrupting us again. Unless it's a girl. Then she'll probably try to kill you out of envy." Damon smirked.

"I forgot how romantic you can be." Bonnie said with an eye roll, but Damon noticed a grin peeking out of the corners of her mouth.

"Romance shmomance. But if it makes you feel better, I'll put on pants." Damon bent down to grab his slacks from last night.

"Ooh, preppy. I like." Bonnie grinned, getting out of bed herself.

"Where do you think you're going? If I have to put on clothes, so do you." Damon ordered.

"I was going to get a shirt and shorts from your closet. I'm not an exhibitionist." Bonnie admonished.

"Bonnie Bennett! If you're having sex right now instead of answering the door, I'm going to kill you!" A voice came from downstairs.

"Amy?" Bonnie asked, shock all over her face.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Damon asked.

"No idea. She should still be back at the compound." Bonnie said, rushing to put on her clothes.

They both rushed downstairs, finding Noah and Amy in the living room waiting for them.

"They're coming. They figured out the plan and they're coming." Amy said as soon as Bonnie entered the room.

"What do you mean? How could they have figured it out?" Bonnie asked, stress and worry clouding her face.

Amy and Noah exchanged a glance before Noah spoke.

"It was Bri. She's been working with Phoebe all along. They've been playing us." He said monotonously.

"That's not… That's not possible. Bri wouldn't do that." Bonnie whispered.

"Apparently she could." Amy snapped.

"Who's Bri?" Damon broke in, wondering why Bonnie sounded so hurt.

"She's Noah's sister and our partner. She was in charge of reaching out to people." Amy explained, glaring at Damon. "She's been telling Phoebe everything. She and Justin are leading a group of their best warriors here to take us all down. We need to get the witch family and get back the compound. Now."

Bonnie shook her head. "We can't just leave Mystic Falls. Phoebe could attack."

"She won't risk Justin." Amy declared.

"Really? Because something tells me Justin is more than willing to die for the cause." Bonnie argued.

"Bonnie's right." Noah jumped in. "Dad will gladly die if it means taking Bonnie down and keeping Phoebe in power. We need a plan."

"Look, we've picked up a few supernaturals in the past year, but not nearly enough to take on the coven." Damon said.

"There has to be something." Bonnie begged.

"I'm calling the supernatural council." Damon decided.

"The what?" Bonnie asked.

"The supernatural leaders. Stefan, Caroline, Tyler, Elena, Tommy, Chris and Whitney, the two witches you lot tried to kill." Damon explained before starting to dial.

When he finished rallying the troops, he turned back to find the three witches strategizing.

"What if I agree to go with them? Stall them?" Bonnie offered.

"Not happening." Damon interrupted before the other two could say anything.

"Damon's right. You go and Phoebe will either kill you or brainwash you. She has spells to do that. She's probably only been holding back so far as a way to find out who's really loyal to her cause." Amy told Bonnie.

"What other choice do we have?" Bonnie asked.

"What if we draw them away? Get them away from Mystic Falls while one of us takes Chris and Whitney back to the coven, try to get some back up." Noah suggested.

Just then the front door came crashing open, revealing Stefan and Caroline.

 **BDBDBD**

The council included Stefan and Caroline representing the vampires, Tyler and Alcario representing the werewolves, Chris and Whitney representing themselves since they were the only witches in town, and Tommy and Elena playing moderators, for when the council got out of hand or couldn't agree. Elena also had the job of making sure human interests were considered.

"So what now?" Stefan asked when he and the rest of the council were caught up.

"We help Bonnie." Caroline declared instantly.

"Not that simple." Tyler pointed out. "In case you haven't forgotten, there's other people we have to think about. Children live here. We can't just go to war."

"It's Bonnie!" Caroline argued.

"Tyler's right, Caroline." Bonnie interrupted. She, Damon, Noah, and Amy had all been watching the proceedings from the side. "We're doing all of this to try to save people. Bringing war here would go against our entire purpose."

"Okay, do you not understand what it means to argue your case?" Caroline snapped, glaring at Bonnie.

"Look," Bonnie said, moving past Caroline to talk to the others. "The last thing we want is to bring the coven down on your heads. If Whitney and Chris would be willing to go with Noah and try to convince the members who are almost willing to help us back at the compound, then Amy and I will negotiate with Phoebe. Stall her, maybe even draw them away from here."

"Absolutely not!" Damon burst out behind her.

"Bonnie, you've risked enough for this town. Everyone here owes you their lives at least one time over. They should all be more than willing to help." Caroline ranted.

"Caroline, we can't force people to die for her." Stefan interrupted.

"Stefan!" Caroline burst out.

"Thank you, Stefan. Care, I have this under control. I'll be fine. I need you to trust me. Please." Bonnie whispered, clutching her best friend's hand.

"I can't!" Caroline burst out, tears filling her eyes. "I can't trust you, Bonnie. I don't trust that you'll survive, I don't trust that you'll ask for help when you need it, I don't trust that you'll come back, even if you win." She gripped Bonnie's hand tighter, almost breaking her bones. "I need you to be alright, and the only way I'll ever know for sure is if I'm with you."

"I'm trying to protect you!" Bonnie shouted, ignoring the churning in her gut at Caroline's words.

"We don't need your protection! We need you! It's not your job to protect us! Get over yourself, Bonnie Bennett! You're not a martyr! The entire world doesn't revolve around whether or not you throw yourself into danger!" Caroline shouted right back, matching Bonnie's tone.

Bonnie heard Damon let out a long whistle and start clapping. She would have turned and glared at him, but Caroline still had her hand in a death grip.

"I'm with Blondie. Like it or not, you have backup." Damon told her, stopping his clapping.

"Me too." Stefan agreed.

"Wait, I thought you were on my side?" Bonnie asked, ignoring the warm fuzzy feeling spreading across her heart.

"I said we can't force anyone in the town to die for you or this mission, not that we couldn't make those decisions for ourselves." Stefan explained, shooting Bonnie a reprimanding look.

"We're in too." Tyler spoke up. "This coven is attacking our pack. We're not letting them get away with it."

"We'll help too. They tried to kill our daughter. I'm not letting them try again." Whitney agreed.

"Good. We should head out now. We'll need all the time we can get." Noah said, leading Whitney and Chris out the door.

As everyone else began strategizing, Bonnie felt Tommy pull her aside into another room.

"Tommy, what's up?" She asked as he shut the door.

"How good are you at one-on-one combat?" He asked.

"Pretty good, I guess. Why?"

"Bonnie, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, because I would gladly die for you, but I think your best shot at beating the Aloquoi is to take on Phoebe alone. There's an old tradition, hardly ever used, where a potential successor can challenge the current ruler to a duel, with the winner taking over." Tommy explained.

"What? This solves everything. I fight her, and no one else is in any danger. It's perfect." Bonnie said with a smile.

"You can beat her then?" Tommy asked apprehensively.

Bonnie froze, her stomach sinking to her toes.

"Right. I'll take that as a no. We'll stick to the plan then." Tommy said, walking back towards the door.

"Wait, I just got a power boost from Damon. I can beat her now." Bonnie nodded forcefully.

"Bonnie, if you don't know for sure, then we can't risk it. If you lose, it just enshrines her as the leader. The people who are on the fence will join her. We can't risk it." Tommy argued.

"Tommy, it's the best shot we have. As much as I appreciate everyone agreeing to help, there's less than thirty of us! Against god knows how many Aloquoi! One-on-one is my best shot!" Bonnie argued.

"And what if you lose? She becomes the leader for good. No more coups. Everything you and I believe, what we both risked so much for, is gone. Promise me you won't try it. Promise me, or I'll tell Damon." he said.

"I promise." Bonnie whispered.


End file.
